Sticking to the script: Breast cancer patients' decision making regarding oral endocrine therapy.
Stephanie B Wheeler, Megan C Roberts, Austin R Waters and 4 others
PMID 38878585WHAT IT FOUND
Women who skipped or stopped endocrine therapy cited distrust of the medical industry or unmanageable side effects, while those who continued relied on strong physician recommendation.
Patients who stopped often hid it from their doctors to avoid disappointing them.
Key findings
01Non-initiators were cynical about the pharmaceutical industry and medical system, believing treatments were pushed for profit rather than patient wellbeing.
02Discontinuers stopped primarily due to unrelenting daily side effects rather than fear of rare risks, and many did not tell their physicians for fear of disappointing them.
03Continuers viewed endocrine therapy as a clear decision driven by physician recommendation and a desire to reduce recurrence risk, often avoiding internet searches to prevent conflict.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited from support networks, which may bias results toward patients with greater social support or health activation. Group sizes were unequal, with few non-initiators and discontinuers compared to continuers. No clinical data such as tumor features or exact time since diagnosis were collected due to reliance on self-report. The study did not include caregivers or providers, limiting the view of the decision-making context.
Declared interests
Funding information is not explicitly detailed in the provided text, but the study was approved by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institutional Review Board.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these themes as evidence that specific interventions work. The study describes why patients made decisions, but it does not test whether addressing these factors improves adherence.