- 70% cancer patients had different views on their survival than their medic
- Of those, 96% were more optimistic than medics about their chances
- May be putting themselves through gruelling treatment as a result
- Experts warn they could be missing out on spending time with family
Rosie Taylor for the Daily Mail
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Cancer patients may be putting themselves through pointless and gruelling treatments because they are over-optimistic about their life expectancy.
A study found that seven in ten cancer sufferers had different views about their prognosis from their doctor.
Of those, 96 per cent were more optimistic than medics about how long they would live.
But only one in ten of people who had different views about their life expectancy realised their opinion differed from that of the clinicians treating them.
Experts said it was important for doctors to have frank and honest discussions with patients so they could make informed opinions about which treatments to have.
Cancer patients may be putting themselves through gruelling treatments because they are over-optimistic about their life expectancy, a study has found
They warned that overly optimistic patients could end up opting for aggressive therapies because they think they have longer to live, instead of choosing more quality time with family, for example.
For the study, carried out by the University of Vermont and University of Rochester Medical Centre, researchers interviewed 236 stage 3 or 4 cancer patients and their doctors.
When cancer is stage 3 or 4 it is considered larger and has spread into the surrounding tissues or organs.
Both were asked what they believed the chances were that the patient would live for two years or more.
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Additional questions then gauged whether patients knew their prognosis opinions differed from their doctors, and to what extent treatment options were discussed in the context of life expectancy.
The study found nearly all participants wanted to be involved in treatment decisions and 70 per cent said they would prefer supportive care at the end of their lives as opposed to aggressive therapy.
But researchers pointed out patients can only make informed decisions if they know when death may be approaching.
In the UK, doctors advise cancer patients as to which treatment options would be best for them but the decision of which treatments are carried out is ultimately down to the patient.
Seven in ten cancer sufferers’s predictions on their survival differed from their doctor’s. Experts warned patients, believing they would survive, could be choosing treatment over spending time with family (file photo)
Co-author of the study Ronald M. Epstein said: ‘When people think they’ll live a very long time with cancer despite evidence to the contrary, they may end up taking more aggressive chemotherapy and agreeing to be placed on ventilators or dialysis, paradoxically reducing their quality of life, keeping them from enjoying time with family and sometimes even shortening their lives.
‘So it’s very important for doctors and patients to be on the same page.’
He explained that some patients knew what their doctors thought about their life expectancy but chose to believe other sources, while others thought their doctor agreed with their opinion and failed to realise their views differed.
Robert Gramling, first author of the study published in the journal JAMA Oncology, said: ‘Previous research shows that patients, families and clinicians tend to either avoid prognosis-related conversations altogether or discuss prognosis in unbalanced ways.
‘Our study reinforces the importance of clear and compassionate prognosis communication in advanced illness.’
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