Psychological influences on acceptance of postsurgical treatment in cancer patients

Many cancer patients fail to complete treatment for reasons that are unclear in previous research which, nevertheless, suggested hypotheses for this study about the characteristics of the patients and their consultations.

158 adults with breast cancer or other cancers who had been chosen for postsurgical treatment in the Lister Hospital or the Mount Vernon Hospital had completed published questionnaires to assess either (n=74) personal attributes or circumstances viz. locus of health control, health habits, support, affiliative drive, anxiety, depression, or (n=84) their attitudes to cancer or their consultations, viz. the Mental Attitudes to Cancer Scales, Trust in Physicians, Perceived Empathy, and Satisfaction With Recent and Diagnostic Consultations.

32% then failed to complete treatment. In logistic multiple regression analyses, only diagnosis (P=.0001), gender (P=.005), and treatment center (P=.0002) predicted this although the effect of gender was not significant among patients without breast cancer. Among the patients without breast cancer intended for the Mount Vernon Hospital, a National Cancer Centre, fewer completed treatment than those did not complete.

The breast cancer patients, unlike women with other cancers, and patients referred to the local hospital rather than the regional cancer center, were more likely to complete treatment. Thus, uptake of treatment may be favored by accessibility and familiarity of its source and by the unique impact in women of breast cancer and the wider public attention given to that illness. Research on patients' expectations, fears, and corresponding experiences of treatment, rather than personal attributes, should clarify failure to complete cancer treatment especially in patients without breast pathology.