Toby Campbell, MD, MSc, associate professor (CHS), Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care, commented on a survey of 208 patients in Pennsylvania who had been treated for cancer within the past two years. 

The study found that about half of respondents did not know their disease stage and nearly one-third were uncertain of their cancer status — including some who had no evidence of disease. 

The results did not surprise Dr. Campbell. "Patients struggle both with interpretation of jargon (e.g., what does 'stage IIb' mean) as well as contextualization (e.g., what does 'the cancer is in the liver' mean)," he said. 

To approach the topic with his patients, Dr. Campbell employs a strategy of asking, "Do you want to talk about what this means?"

Resources: 

• "Survey: Half of Cancer Patients Don't Know Their Stage," Medscape, September 6, 2017 (requires free account to view)
• Sivendran S, Jenkins S, Svetec S, Horst M, Newport K, Yost KJ, Yang M. 2017. Illness Understanding of Oncology Patients in a Community-Based Cancer Institute. J Oncol Pract. 13(9):e800-e808.