Taking responsibility for cancer treatment

One hundred and fourteen consecutive patients with early breast cancer were entered into a study on the psychological effects of involvement in treatment choice. All women were offered counselling throughout. One group of women (n = 34), were advised to undergo mastectomyl due to the nature or position of the tumour. These women fared less well psychologically when compared on a battery of measures, before and after surgery, with women who were involved in choosing their own treatment (n = 80). The latter group itself was randomly allocated into two groups for taking explicit responsibility for treatment choice, using a double-blind procedure. These were a Patient Decision Group (n = 41) and a Surgeon Decision group (n = 39). Results support the hypothesis that over and above the benefits of receiving their preferred treatment, women can further benefit from taking explicit responsibility for their treatment choice. Crown Copyright (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.