Chemotherapy Decisions and Outcomes in Older Women With Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVES:

Determine the relationship between preferences and chemotherapy decisions in women age 65 and over with operable, newly diagnosed breast cancer.
Determine how factors that could be targets for intervention affect the relationship between preferences and chemotherapy decisions in these patients.
Determine the relationships between preference-based chemotherapy decisions, quality of life, and satisfaction with treatment decisions in these patients.
Determine the disease-free survival and competing causes of mortality of these patients.
Determine the types of physician providers who care for older breast cancer survivors after initial cancer treatment is completed and explore how women decide about which physicians to see.
Measure quality indicators for the survivorship phase of care and evaluate if quality varies by type of physician provider model.
Determine if long-term patient-reported satisfaction varies as a function of physician model for providing follow-up care post-treatment.
Determine whether physician-patient communication and coordination of care after treatment ends mediate follow-up quality and outcomes post-treatment.

OUTLINE: This is a cohort study.

Patients participate in interviews over 30-45 minutes at baseline, at 6 months, and at 1 and 2 years.

Patients are followed annually for at least 5 years.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 1,296 patients will be accrued for this study within 18-24 months.