Recently, an organization called All.Can surveyed over 4,000 cancer patients from 10 different countries. The survey questions were designed to find out if patients felt the care provided by their doctors was sufficient. Unfortunately, the responses are concerning.
Perhaps the most alarming findings are that almost half (47%) of patients felt that they were not involved enough in decisions regarding their treatment and 39% of patients felt that they were not given enough support to deal with ongoing symptoms or side effects.
This included psychological support (69% of patients said they needed psychological support during or after cancer care, however 34% stated it was not available) and financial support (26% reported a loss of employment income, and 36% said that travel cost during care was a large burden)
These troubling statistics make it clear that there is great room for improvement in cancer care. One big step is for patients to be more actively involved in their treatment plans. It is extremely important to ask questions and get answers!
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