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Current Oncology
Volume 22
Issue 5
10.3747/co.22.2795
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Current Oncology is published by MDPI from Volume 28 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Multimed Inc..
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Short Communication

Wait Times for Prostate Cancer Treatment and Patient Perceptions of Care in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Report

by
K. Tran
1,*,
C. Sandoval
1,
R. Rahal
1,
G. Porter
1,2,
R. Siemens
3,
J. Hernandez
1,
S. Fung
1,
C. Louzado
1,
J Liu
1,
H. Bryant
1,4 and
in collaboration with the System Performance Steering Committee and Technical Working Group
1
Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, Toronto, ON, Canada
2
Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
3
Department of Urology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
4
Departments of Community Health Sciences and of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Oncol. 2015, 22(5), 361-364; https://doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2795
Submission received: 6 July 2015 / Revised: 12 August 2015 / Accepted: 13 September 2015 / Published: 1 October 2015

Abstract

Background: Access to cancer care is a significant concern for Canadians. Prolonged delays between cancer diagnosis and treatment have been associated with anxiety, stress, and perceived powerlessness for patients and their family members. Longer wait times can also be associated with poorer prognosis, although the evidence is inconclusive. Here, we report national wait times for radiation therapy and surgery for localized prostate cancer (pca) and the effect of wait time on patient perceptions of their care. Results: Treatment wait times showed substantial interprovincial variation. The longest 90th percentile wait times for radiation therapy and surgery were, respectively, 40 days and 105 days. In all provinces, waits for radiation therapy were longer for pca patients than for patients with breast, colorectal, or lung cancer. In the focus groups and interviews conducted with 47 men treated for pca, many participants did not perceive that wait times for treatment were prolonged. Those who experienced delays between diagnosis and treatment voiced issues with a lack of communication about when they would receive treatment and a lack of support or information to make an informed decision about treatment. Minimizing treatment delays was an aspect of the cancer journey that participants would like to change because of the stress it caused. Conclusions: Although wait time statistics are useful, a review of cancer control in Canada cannot be considered complete unless an effort is made to give voice to the experiences of individuals with cancer. The findings presented here are intended to provide a snapshot of national care delivery for localized pca and to identify opportunities for improvement in clinical practice.
Keywords: prostate cancer; treatment; surgery; radiation therapy; access to health care; qualitative research prostate cancer; treatment; surgery; radiation therapy; access to health care; qualitative research

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Tran, K.; Sandoval, C.; Rahal, R.; Porter, G.; Siemens, R.; Hernandez, J.; Fung, S.; Louzado, C.; Liu, J.; Bryant, H.; et al. Wait Times for Prostate Cancer Treatment and Patient Perceptions of Care in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Report. Curr. Oncol. 2015, 22, 361-364. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2795

AMA Style

Tran K, Sandoval C, Rahal R, Porter G, Siemens R, Hernandez J, Fung S, Louzado C, Liu J, Bryant H, et al. Wait Times for Prostate Cancer Treatment and Patient Perceptions of Care in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Report. Current Oncology. 2015; 22(5):361-364. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2795

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tran, K., C. Sandoval, R. Rahal, G. Porter, R. Siemens, J. Hernandez, S. Fung, C. Louzado, J Liu, H. Bryant, and et al. 2015. "Wait Times for Prostate Cancer Treatment and Patient Perceptions of Care in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Report" Current Oncology 22, no. 5: 361-364. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2795

APA Style

Tran, K., Sandoval, C., Rahal, R., Porter, G., Siemens, R., Hernandez, J., Fung, S., Louzado, C., Liu, J., Bryant, H., & in collaboration with the System Performance Steering Committee and Technical Working Group. (2015). Wait Times for Prostate Cancer Treatment and Patient Perceptions of Care in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Report. Current Oncology, 22(5), 361-364. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.22.2795

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