title: Taking responsibility for cancer treatment.
abstract: One hundred and fourteen consecutive patients with early breast cancer were entered into a study on the psychological effects of involvement in treatment choice. All women were offered counselling throughout. One group of women (n = 34), were advised to undergo mastectomy, due to the nature or position of the tumour. These women fared less well psychologically when compared on a battery of measures, before and after surgery, with women who were involved in choosing their own treatment (n = 80). The latter group itself was randomly allocated into two groups for taking explicit responsibility for treatment choice, using a double-blind procedure. These were a Patient Decision Group (n = 41) and a Surgeon Decision Group (n = 39). Results support the hypothesis that over and above the benefits of receiving their preferred treatment, women can further benefit from taking explicit responsibility for their treatment choice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, Sutton General Hospital, Surrey, UK.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Deadman
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Leinster
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Owens
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Dewey
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Slade
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery*; D003376:Counseling; D003657:Decision Making; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods*; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D017009:Professional Autonomy; D012649:Self Concept