Accuracy of advanced cancer patients' life expectancy estimates: The role of race and source of life expectancy information

Blogger's Note: ovarian cancer patients not included in this study (lung, pancreatic, colon, brain, stomach, esophageal) but included various religions

open access

INTRODUCTION

Many advanced cancer patients lack an accurate understanding of their illness and prognosis.[1, 2] Advanced cancer patients tend to underestimate the severity of their diagnosis,[3, 4] view their prognosis in overly positive and unrealistic terms,[5-7] and inaccurately believe that the goal of treatment is to cure their cancer.[4, 8] In recent studies of advanced cancer patients, fewer than 20% had an accurate understanding of their prognosis.[7, 9, 10].....

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Participants and Procedures

Coping With Cancer is a National Cancer Institute– and National Institute of Mental Health–funded prospective, longitudinal, multisite study of terminally ill cancer patients and their informal caregivers. Patients were recruited from September 1, 2002 to February 28, 2008. Patients in the current sample were recruited from outpatient clinics at the Yale Cancer Center (New Haven, Conn), the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System Comprehensive Cancer Clinics (West Haven, Conn), the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center (Dallas, Texas), the Parkland Hospital Palliative Care Service (Dallas, Texas), the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, Mass), Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, Mass), and New Hampshire Oncology-Hematology (NHOH). Approval was obtained from the human subjects committees of all participating centers; all enrolled patients provided written consent and received $25 for their participation......