#1542 The Goal of Chemotherapy: Little Agreement Between Patients and Their Doctors. G Varma, R Stein, J Jacobson, N Briggs, G Shapiro; Univeristy of Wisconsin Medical School - Milwaukee Clinical Campus, Sinai Samaritan Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI A survey of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in three cancer clinics within the same metro area was conducted to study physician-patient communication about chemotherapy decisions. Patients and their doctors were asked to identify the goal of chemotherapy (cure or palliation), the likelihood of achieving that goal, and questions dealing with life expectancy, chemotherapy toxicity, and patient understanding of the burdens and benefits of chemotherapy. Patient questionnaires were completed by direct interview, and compared to similar, self-administered, questionnaires completed by their oncologists. Of 75 patients, one declined to participate. Sixty-six of the physician questionnaires were available for evaluation. Overall agreement on the goal of treatment was poor (k=.126, p=.07). When doctors identified the goal as palliation, 67% of patients thought that the goal of treatment was cure. However, in those cases where the doctors identified the goal as cure (20%), agreement with their patients was high (93%). When the doctor and patient agreed on the goal (45%), patients had higher expectations for success than their doctors -80% vs 60% (p=.001). Twenty-three percent of patients did not know the likelihood of achieving the identified goal of the chemotherapy. Sixty percent of patients did not know how long they might live without chemotherapy. Ninety-five percent of patients understood that chemotherapy had toxicity. Ninety-eight percent of patients and 94% of doctors were satisfied with the patients’ understanding of the burdens and benefits of chemotherapy. The survey results indicate that even though doctors and patients think that there is patient understanding about the impact of chemotherapy on their cancer, they agree on the goal of treatment less than half the time, and almost a quarter of the patients had no idea what the likelihood of achieving the goal was. We must therefore question the adequacy of our current informed consent process. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.