Shared Decision Making In Cancer Treatment: Findings From A Large Survey Of Lymphoma (Lym) Patients And Survivors

Introduction: As the complexity of the LYM treatment landscape increases, patients (pts) have become more involved in understanding treatment options, joining advocacy organizations, and seeking information through a multitude of venues. This has increased the pts voice in the treatment decision-making (DM) process while considering several factors (i.e. route of administration, side effects, cost, access to care, quality of life, etc). There is robust evidence that establishes the importance of a collaborative relationship between pts and clinicians when making treatment related decisions. The growing evidence also suggests there is an increased need for pt oriented-research, including communication between the scientific community and cancer pts. However, despite the established need for shared DM, there are discrepancies between the extent that pts prefer to be involved vs their actual involvement. Previous studies have suggested that elderly pts and pts with lower education status prefer a passive DM role. Our objective was to facilitate a detailed survey identifying clinical characteristics and demographics that influence the preferred and actual role that LYM pts have in shared treatment DM.