Breast Cancer Survivors Prefer Oncologist Follow-Up

In breast cancer survivors participating in a survivorship study, follow-up visits with an oncologist as compared to other types of clinicians are perceived to minimize stress around the visit, decrease worrying about cancer, and improve the self-perceived impact of follow-up visits on cancer survival, according to research published online Dec. 12 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Erica L. Mayer, M.D., M.P.H., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues analyzed data from 218 breast cancer survivors (median age, 57.5 years) who participated in a general survivorship study and completed an extra breast cancer-specific questionnaire.

The purpose of the study was to determine survivors' comfort with different clinician types and telephone/Internet-based virtual visits as components of survivorship care. Perceptions of the impact of follow-up visits on survival, level of worry about cancer, and stress related to the visit were evaluated for each clinician type and for virtual visits.

Read the full story at: http://www.physiciansbriefing.com/Article.asp?AID=659695

Sources: Health Day; Journal of Clinical Oncology