Informative needs of Family members of breast cancer patients’ during a first oncological consultation

Background The informative needs of family members of breast cancer patients has been only recently investigated (Beaver & Witham 2007). In Italy patients are frequently accompanied and assisted by a close family member during oncological consultations. The aim of this study is to observe the natural trend of the frequency and type of questions asked by relatives of breast cancer patients during a first consultation. Methods We conducted an observational study on patients with breast cancer at their first consultation with the oncologist. The consultation was audio-recorded and the frequency and type of questions asked by patients and relatives were noted. Results Sixty-eight percent of patients(N=46) attended with relatives (mean age 56, sd 14). They were 20 husbands (43%) and 11 children (24%). Patients asked a mean of 18 questions (sd=11; range 1-48), relatives a mean of 6 questions (sd=7, range 0-31), mainly about treatment (patients-mean=8, sd=6-relatives mean=3, sd=3) and administrative questions (eg. Where to collect the exams results; Patient-mean=6, sd=4-Relatives mean=3, sd=3), rarely about prognosis and etiology (Patients mean=0.8 and 0.3 respectively- relatives mean=0.2 and 0). There was no difference in the numbers of questions asked by the patient if they attended the consultation alone or with relatives. There was no association between the numbers of questions asked by patients and those ones asked by relatives. Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study in Italy exploring the informative needs of family members of breast cancer patients, expressed during the consultation. Patients’ and their relatives’ informative needs are similar to what observed in the same context in other countries (Beaver & Witham 2007), although they asked more questions. The exploration of the family members’ informative needs during oncological consultation would open new and interesting perspectives to better understand their role in the information and shared decision making process