AB193. 40. The information needs of patients with breast cancer at years one, three & five post diagnosis

Background: Five-year survival for patients post diagnosis with invasive breast cancer is 83%. Information needs of patients around the time of diagnosis have been studied extensively but little is known about patients’ information needs longer term. The aim of this study was to assess the information needs of patients greater than 1-year post diagnosis.

Methods: One hundred & five patients presenting for follow-up appointments at a tertiary referral breast cancer centre between July and September 2017 were recruited for this study. Each patient completed the Toronto Information Needs Questionnaire for Breast Cancer (TINQ-BC) as well as a basic demographics questionnaire. Data was also collected from their health records regarding treatment & disease status. Patients who were attending follow-up at years one, three and five post diagnosis were chosen for inclusion in the study.

Results: Of the 105 patients studied, 23, 38 and 44 were attending 1-, 3- and 5-year follow-up respectively. The overall median score on the TINQ-BC was 4.15; on the 5-point Likert scale 4 being very important and 5 extremely important. There was no difference in mean scores at 1, 3 and 5 years. There was no difference in mean scores analysed according to age or disease stage at diagnosis.

Conclusions: The information needs of patients with breast cancer are high throughout the follow-up period post-diagnosis with most patients rating need for information on breast cancer as somewhat or extremely important to them. In an era of prolonged survival, managing long-term information needs of breast cancer patients is an important consideration.

Keywords: Breast cancer; information provision; follow-up