Follow-Up Care for Older Women With Breast Cancer

摘要

Little is known about what constitutes appropriate care for older women withbreast cancer. Extending work begun as part of an National Cancer Initute-funded project, we are examining whether variations in care received by older women affect short-term psychosocial and clinical outcomes. Our specific aims are: (1) To describe patterns of adjuvant hormonal and chemotherapy in older women, and factors associated with receipt of these therapies; (2) To characterize and quantify the breast cancer-related care received by older women during the early years following diagnosis; and (3) To determine the effects of ongoing breast cancer care on patients' quality of life. We are conducting a longitudinal observational study of a cohort of 302 women greater than or equal 55 years of age diagnosed with stage I and II breast cancer between October 1992 and December 1995 at five sites in Boston, Massachusetts. Women are interviewed annually to obtain information about health and personal characteristics. Medical record abstracts are performed annually to gather information about treatments received, tests performed, and disease recurrences. Descriptive and multivariate analytic techniques will be used to identify patient and provider characteristics associated with variations in care received and the effects of these variations on patients quality of life.