Illness perceptions and quality of life in cancer: Does communication with the physician matter?

Cancer Anxiety Mediates the Association Between Satisfaction With Medical Communication and Psychological Quality of Life After Prophylactic Bilateral Salpingo-Oophorectomy

“…In turn, reduced cancer anxiety leads to a greater psychological QoL. In accordance with Kretsch et al (2014) , we hypothesize that a greater quality of medical communication, focused on providing accurate information on (i) the risk condition or genetic predisposition, (ii) possible prophylactic surgeries, and (iii) post-surgery recovery, using an emphatic and patient-centered style, may be associated with a greater satisfaction with medical communication. This, in turn, may enhance both the patients’ self-efficacy competencies and their focus on an internal locus of control (i.e., the beliefs that the outcomes of one own’s actions are results of one own abilities and choices).…”

“…It is well known that an efficient and good communication—characterized by a positive patient-physician alliance, information sharing, and by a greater ability to foster patient’s feelings of control and mastery—has an overall positive effect on the psychological wellbeing of patients ( Hack et al, 2005 ). In particular, a good medical communication influences the perception of control about the treatment, the overall compliance with the treatment, frequency of symptoms, self-management skills, engagement in preventive health behaviors, satisfaction for the surgery’s choice, QoL, anxiety, and depression ( Kretsch et al, 2014 ). To date, literature has highlighted that women at high risk for cancer frequently claim for insufficient information to make an informed decision about the choice to carry out the surgery ( Hallowell, 1998 ).…”