Doctors who care for low-income women who have survived breast cancer are more likely to implement recommended follow-up care if the patients receive counseling and a care plan that is tailored for them, according to a UCLA-led study.
“The results are very exciting as they clearly demonstrate that the combination of a survivorship care plan with counseling can empower low-income women as they transition from breast cancer patient to breast cancer survivor,” said Dr. Patricia Ganz, director of Prevention and Control Research at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and a co-author of the study.
The customized treatment plans are particularly important for lower-income women, who tend to have less access to high-quality health care.
Dr. Rose C. Maly, a member of the Jonsson Cancer Center, is the lead author of the study, which was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute.
