Diagnosis and treatment knowledge among breast cancer survivors in Mexico: A cross-sectional study

The growing population of breast cancer (BC) survivors underscores the need for improved knowledge and engagement in long-term follow-up care. The main aim of this study was to evaluate BC survivors' knowledge regarding their diagnosis and treatment, satisfaction with the information provided, and perception of oncologists' communication skills.

A 36-question survey was administered to 181 BC survivors (women diagnosed with stage I-III BC) to assess their knowledge about diagnosis and treatment. Knowledge was estimated by comparing survivors' responses with medical records. Chi-square and Fisher tests were used to evaluate associations.

Knowledge was lower for essential diagnostic characteristics (10.5 %, receptor status and clinical stage) than for essential treatment characteristics (82.3 %, receipt of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and/or HER2-targeted therapy). Survivors with at least high-school education and those diagnosed < 5 years prior were more likely to correctly identify essential diagnostic characteristics (p = 0.007 and p = 0.048, respectively); no significant association was observed with age. No associations were observed between essential treatment characteristics and age (p = 0.79), education level (p = 0.26), and time since diagnosis (p = 0.86). Most BC survivors agreed their oncologists adequately transmitted their diagnosis and treatment information (95 %).

BC survivors in our study were more knowledgeable about treatment than diagnosis. Participants reported high satisfaction with their medical oncologists' communication skills and the information provided. Our study highlights knowledge gaps, factors affecting recall of medical details, and the critical role of oncologists' communication.