Are Cancer Patients Willing to Travel More or Further Away for a Slightly More Efficient Therapy?


  •  Ph. Groux    
  •  S. Anchisi    
  •  Th. Szucs    

Abstract

Centralisation of cancer services is ongoing in many countries due to the rapid increase of knowledge in oncology, the interdisciplinary of many cancer treatments and economic pressure. This study investigated whether cancer patients are willing to accept this additional burden. All patients who came in February 2012 for a consultation or an ambulant treatment were asked to answer to a survey. The questionnaire covered among other six questions whether the patients would be willing to travel more frequently or further away. These questions were split in two groups: one for a slightly more efficacious therapy and the other for a therapy with slightly fewer side effects. To travel more frequently is well accepted as a clear majority of patients say yes or rather yes to travel more frequently for a more efficacious therapy (67%) as for a therapy with fewer side effects (62%). To travel further away doesn't have a clear majority as 51% of the patients say yes or rather yes for a more efficacious therapy and 49% for a therapy with fewer side effects. General acceptance of travelling further away as a consequence of centralisation of oncology services cannot be assumed. Particularly elderly patients are reluctant to it and will require specific solutions.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
  • ISSN(Print): 1927-4858
  • ISSN(Online): 1927-4866
  • Started: 2012
  • Frequency: semiannual

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