Most Alaskan Breast Cancer Patients Unsatisfied With Supplemental Treatment Options, Survey Finds

A recent survey of Alaskan breast cancer patients found that most wanted more information about their treatment options, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The online survey of 309 breast cancer survivors was conducted by researchers at the University of Alaska-Anchorage Center for Behavioral Health Research & Services. According to the National Cancer Institute, one in eight women experience breast cancer. An average of 317 Alaska residents are diagnosed with the disease each year.

While most survey respondents said they were satisfied with their prescribed treatment, most said they need more information earlier in the process to make more informed decisions. Many said they were not told of broader treatment services, such as psychological and nutritional counseling, that could have helped them. Women who did receive information on such services and used them thought they were helpful, according to the survey.

Christiane Brems, a UAA professor and principal investigator of the study, said as many as 80% of women surveyed have "significant long-term fears about death and worries about their future." However, "very few received psychological counseling," she said, adding, "Care is not as coordinated or comprehensive as it could be."

The survey also found that residents of rural areas were more likely to have advanced cancers than those in urban areas. Sixty-one percent of women who live farther than 60 miles from their diagnosis site had tumors that had spread to surrounding tissue, compared with 43% of women who live within 20 miles of their diagnosis site (Shinohara, Anchorage Daily News, 7/4).


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