Barriers Associated With Timely Adjuvant Chemotherapy Administration in Patients With Invasive Breast Cancer

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To comprehensively and qualitatively assess and identify the determinants of time to chemotherapy (TTC) delays in a vulnerable population using qualitative methods.

Ia. To describe the health literacy/numeracy, social support and level of trust in physicians of the study participants. (Exploratory)

OUTLINE:

Patients complete questionnaires and participate in an interview to answer questions about the information patients received before starting the chemotherapy, any medical problems after the surgery that could have been related to the start of the chemotherapy, how the chemotherapy affected patients' life, and anything else patients may remember between the time when the breast surgery ended and the first dose of chemotherapy started. Patients' medical records are also reviewed.

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosed with primary invasive breast cancer
• For patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: First dose of chemotherapy administered >= 60 days after definitive breast cancer surgery. For patient treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: First dose of chemotherapy administered >= 60 days after pathological diagnosis
• Diagnosis of breast cancer within three years of study enrollment
• Can speak, read, and understand English and/or Spanish
• Patient of Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital-Harris Health System (LBJ-HHS) or MD Anderson Cancer Center

Exclusion criteria

• Women hospitalized for a critical condition or who are considered medically unstable by their medical team
• Patients that started chemotherapy >= 3 years after definitive breast cancer surgery