Cancer care and fertility program improves patient satisfaction
(HealthDay)—A cancer and fertility program, which provides resources, clinician education, and fertility clinical nurse specialist consultation, is associated with improvement in patient satisfaction with information received, according to research published online April 4 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Joanne F. Kelvin, R.N., from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues conducted retrospective cross-sectional surveys to examine satisfaction before (cohort 1 [C1]; 150 males, 271 females) and after (cohort 2 [C2]; 120 males, 320 females) initiation in a cancer and fertility program. The respondents were mainly two years post-diagnosis; testicular, breast, and lymphoma were the most frequently reported cancers.
The researchers found that between C1 and C2 there was a significant difference in satisfaction with the amount of information received. For males, in both cohorts satisfaction with information on fertility risks was high; for information on sperm banking and finding a sperm bank, satisfaction was significantly greater in C2. In females, satisfaction with information was significantly greater on fertility risks, fertility preservation options, help with decision making, and finding a reproductive endocrinologist in C2. Overall, 96 percent of males and 99 percent of females who received and read the information materials found them helpful.
"Improvements in patient satisfaction with information received demonstrate the potential for fertility programs in cancer care settings to improve the quality of clinician-patient discussions about fertility," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.
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