How Do Gender, Age and Travel Time Impact on the Need for Social Support of Patients to Have Access to Cancer Treatment?

Abstract

Purpose: Disparities in cancer treatment for geographical and socioeconomic reasons have been demonstrated in several countries. In Valais, a canton in Switzerland, to travel to one of the oncology wards can be time consuming, cost intensive and make support by relatives or external persons and institutions necessary. Method:We investigated which kind of support cancer patients in Valais need today to make a treatment possible, quantified it and identified subgroups with particular needs. All patients who came in February 2012 for a consultation or an ambulant therapy to one of the four centres of the "Département Valaisan d'Oncologie" or the unique private practice in the region were asked to answer to a questionnaire. Results were summarised and analysed. Results: 84% of the patients need support. 40% of the patients need two or more kinds of support. Kind and quantity of support depend on gender, age and distance. Cancer patients in Valais need support to make their treatments possible. Some subgroups have a complex pattern of support and need specific assistance as younger women or elderly patients. Conclusions:We demonstrate that cancer patients in Valais need social support to handle their treatment days and that their out of the pocket travel expenses increase rapidly with distance. The pattern of support needed varies according to patient characteristics as gender, age and distance to treatment centre.

Cancer Patient’s Contribution to Reduce Chemotherapy Related Burden of Travel: What Would Chemotherapy Patients Agree to Do?

“…The questionnaire covered items as gender, date of birth, living place, kind of cancer, kind of treatment and questions covering different aspects of the travel: how the patient travelled to the centre, how long the travel lasted and which kind of support was necessary to travel and who provided this support. Details of the questionnaire have been published separately [15].…”

Impact of Treatments on the Family of Breast, Prostate, Colon and Lung Cancer Patients

“…The questionnaire covered items as gender, date of birth, living place, kind of cancer, kind of treatment and questions covering different aspects of the travel: how the patient travelled to the centre, how long the travel lasted and which kind of support was necessary to travel and who provided this support. Details of the questionnaire have been published separately (Groux P. et al 2014b). …”

“…The need to travel for treatment cause many practical, emotional and financial problems for patients and burden them with additional worry concerning family and work commitments (Butow P. et al 2012). Recent publications highlighted as well travel-related burden for cancer patients (Zucca A. et al, 2011) and financial and social impacts for support persons of cancer survivors (Carey M. et al 2012) as impact of age and distance on the willingness of cancer patients to travel more or further away for a slightly more efficient therapy (Groux P. et al 2014a) and the impact of gender, age and travel time impact on the need for social support of patients to have access to cancer treatment (Groux P. et al 2014b). …”