All.Can Patient Survey

38 What we know There is evidence that support services available for cancer patients may not always be appropriate for patients with more advanced disease. For example, a comprehensive survey of breast cancer patients in Australia found that those with metastatic breast cancer found available support less adapted to their needs compared to patients with earlier‑stage disease. 49 Survey responses Unweighted base size * % of respondents who answered ‘No’ to each question ** Overall Respondents whose cancer had not spread to other organs at diagnosis Respondents whose cancer had spread to other organs at diagnosis Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in deciding which treatment options were best for you? 3,124 15% 12% 22% Have you always been given enough information about your cancer care and treatment, in a way that you could understand? 3,650 31% 26% 39% Have you always been given enough information, in a way that you could understand, about signs and symptoms to look out for that your cancer might be returning/ getting worse? 2,627 35% 31% 39% Do you feel you have always been given enough support to deal with any ongoing symptoms and side effects, even beyond the phase of ‘active’ treatment (if applicable)? 3,623 39% 34% 54% Table 2. Respondents’ negative perceptions of information and support, by stage of disease at time of diagnosis * Total number of people who responded to each question ** Interpreting this table: the ‘Overall’ column gives the proportion of all respondents who answered ‘no’ to each question in the first column, and the other columns are broken down by how advanced the cancer was at point of diagnosis. For example, 15% of respondents overall reported that they were not involved as much as they wanted to be in deciding which treatment options were best for them; for those whose cancer had not spread at diagnosis, this figure was 12%, but for those whose cancer had already spread by the time of diagnosis, it was 22%. 2 | Information, support and shared decision-making