A 5-year review of an educational program focused on meeting the needs of patients with advanced breast cancer.

Abstract

87 Background: Women living with advanced breast cancer have distinct often unmet needs, even compared to other women with breast cancer. For the past five years, the Cancer Support Community has been committed to delivering Frankly Speaking About Cancer: Advanced Breast Cancer, a comprehensive psychosocial education program created for women with metastatic breast cancer and their families. The program’s clinically facilitated evidence-based education workshops have reached 2,690 attendees since its inception in 2006. The workshop provides valuable information about current treatments, clinical trials, side-effect management, and social and emotional challenges of an advanced breast cancer diagnosis. Workshop outcomes are analyzed annually, informing program content and ensuring the program is meeting the needs of those served. As the program enters its sixth year, data were consolidated across years to investigate how the program has been meeting the needs of these women and their loved ones. Methods: 1,827 workshop attendees since the program’s beginning have completed evaluations (68% response rate) which included assessing levels of pre- and post-workshop knowledge about advanced breast cancer, patient-provider communication, and general workshop feedback. Results: 64.9% of respondents were survivors, 78.5% were Caucasian, and the average age was 56. Most workshop respondents (89.6%) reported gaining a high or very high level of knowledge about advanced breast cancer, with significant increases compared with pre-workshop levels (p <.01). Most reported intent to increase communication with their clinical team following the workshop. A majority reported feeling better equipped to ask questions to their health care team (92.1%), and discuss the possibility of clinical trials with their healthcare team (77.7%). Furthermore, 90% of attendees felt confident that after the workshop they could speak knowledgably about side effects of cancer treatment with their doctor, a key issue in regards to quality of life. Conclusions: Taken together, the data indicate the continued relevance of this program for those affected by advanced breast cancer.