A recent study published by Stump et al in Cancer indicated that certain physicians who care for patients with cancer do not often promote healthy lifestyle changes to cancer survivors, and they may fear that providing such advice would distress or overwhelm patients. The findings are noteworthy since maintaining a healthy lifestyle is especially important to the long-term well-being of cancer survivors.
Cancer survivors face increased risks of cardiovascular disease and other conditions, and guidelines advise physicians—including oncologists—to encourage cancer survivors to adopt healthy lifestyles to help protect their long-term health.
Methods
To investigate the extent to which physicians follow these recommendations, a team led by Tammy Stump, PhD, and Bonnie Spring, PhD, both of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, surveyed 91 physicians: 30 primary care physicians; 30 oncologists; and 31 specialists (urologists, gynecologists, and dermatologists) who treat survivors of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma, respectively.
“Even though oncologists clearly believe that cancer survivors should adopt a healthy lifestyle, they don’t have the time to address more than cancer care—that’s their expertise.”— Tammy Stump, PhD
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Survey Results
Among primary care physicians, 90% reported recommending health promotion such as weight loss and smoking cessation to at least some cancer survivors. However, only 26.7% of oncologists and 9.7% of specialists said they ever did so.
In interviews, oncologists expressed fear that promoting healthy lifestyle changes would distress or overwhelm patients. They also noted that they often lack the time and training to make such recommendations to patients. Most physicians believed that at least half of cancer survivors would take their medications properly to prevent cancer recurrence, but they believed that patients would not do so if they were also trying to lose weight.
“Even though oncologists clearly believe that cancer survivors should adopt a healthy lifestyle, they don’t have the time to address more than cancer care—that’s their expertise,” said Dr. Stump.
“Ultimately, we believe that healthy lifestyle support can be provided to cancer survivors most effectively as part of integrated survivorship care delivered by health promotionists trained in nutrition, physical activity, and behavioral coaching in a program designed with the input of oncologists to meet the specific needs of cancer survivors,” added Dr. Spring.
Disclosure:For full disclosures of the study authors, visit onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
