RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PREFERENCES FOR DECISIONAL CONTROL AND ILLNESS INFORMATION AMONG WOMEN WITH BREAST-CANCER - A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE-ANALYSIS

This study examined relationships between cancer patients' preferences for involvement in making treatment decisions and preferences for inf ormation about diagnosis, treatment, side effects, and prognosis. Part icipants were 35 women with stage I and II breast cancer recruited fro m two medical oncology and radiation oncology clinics. Following admin istmtion of card sort measures of preference for involvement in treatm ent decision making and information needs, a semi-structured interview was conducted to provide patients with an opportunity to elaborate on their role preferences and health care experiences. Results showed th at patients who desired an active role in treatment decision making al so desired detailed information. This relationship was not as clear fo r passive patients. Relative to passive patients, active patients desi red significantly more detailed explanations of their diagnosis, treat ment alternatives, and treatment procedures. Active patients also pref erred that their physicians use the words 'cancer' or 'malignancy' whe n referring to their illness while passive patients preferred that the ir physicians use a euphemism. Further research is needed to criticall y detail the advantages and disadvantages of the active and passive ro les and their impact on disease progression and psychological well-bei ng.