06 Apr Most Cancer Patients Have Overly Optimistic View Of Their Life Expectancy
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Holly Prigerson
Holly G. Prigerson, Ph.D.
Irving Sherwood Wright Professor in Geriatrics
Professor of Sociology in Medicine
Director, Center for Research on End of Life Care
Weill Cornell Medicine
New York Presbyterian Hospital
New York City, New York 10065
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Prigerson: Patients need to know their prognosis to be informed consumers of end-stage cancer care. We found that most patients have an overly optimistic view of their life-expectancy and that few patients base their life expectancy estimate on communications with their healthcare providers. It was striking that 0% of black patients said their prognostic estimate was based on a medical professional.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Prigerson: There need to be ways of enhancing trust of medical information provided by physicians in clinic and a need to look to other sources of prognostic information, particularly from chaplains, for changes in illness understanding.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Prigerson: Examination of the influence of non-clinicians on reducing racial disparities in illness understanding. Perhaps bereaved family survivors might provide a resource for improving decisions made by patients and families at the end of life.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Cancer. 2016 Mar 29. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30001. [Epub ahead of print]
Accuracy of advanced cancer patients’ life expectancy estimates: The role of race and source of life expectancy information.
Trevino KM1,2, Zhang B3, Shen MJ1,2, Prigerson HG1,2.
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Most Cancer Patients Have Overly Optimistic View Of Their Life Expectancy (2016). Most Cancer Patients Have Overly Optimistic View Of Their Life Expectancy MedicalResearch.com
Last Updated on April 6, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD