Empowering Patients through Education: Exploring Patients' Needs about Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer at the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre

摘要

Introduction: There is currently no consensus regarding the optimal treatment for postprostatectomy prostate cancer patients. The primary objective of this study was to investigate patient opinions regarding the questions that should be discussed between health care professionals and postprostatectomy patients who may require radiation therapy with adjuvant or salvage intent, to help facilitate die decision-making process.Methods: Patients who were consulted for treatment of prostate cancer at the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre and who had undergone a prostatectomy were invited to complete a survey. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of 74 questions that may be important to patients in their situation using a four-point ordinal scale (essential, important, no opinion, and avoid). Questions were grouped into six domains pertaining to diagnosis, decision making, radiation therapy procedures, benefits, side effects, and supportive network. Patients were also asked to list any other additional comments or questions that should be included. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables of interest. Chi-square analyses and Fisher exact tests were used to assess differences in numbers of patients choosing the essential response between demographics.