Early-Stage Breast Cancer Menopausal Symptom Experience and Management: Exploring Medical Oncology Clinic Visit Conversations Through Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Women being treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer experience menopausal symptoms that vary in presentation and impact on quality of life. The clinical visit before each chemotherapy cycle provides an important opportunity to allow patients to dialogue with their medical oncology healthcare providers about these symptoms and identify strategies for self-management. The objective of this study was to characterize patient and provider interactions regarding the menopausal symptom experience and management in the context of breast cancer treatment. Methods Thematic analysis was employed to analyze 61 transcripts from clinical encounters of women receiving chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. Transcripts were chosen based on their inclusion of menopausal symptom discussion. Results Themes were separated into three distinct categories: patient, clinician, and dyadic themes. The overarching theme was goal discordance in the clinical visit, which was reflected in the following themes: unexpected & unprepared, distressed, disrupted & disturbed, clinical insensitivity, missed opportunity for management and empathy, and use of humor and colloquial language. Overall, women were unprepared for the menopausal symptom experience and clinicians did not often provide management, interventions, or empathetic responses. Conclusion There is a need to develop more astute assessment and communication regarding menopausal symptoms during the clinical visit. Possible interventions include a more holistic assessment, algorithms to facilitate the clinician’s attention and response to menopausal symptoms, and treatment of symptoms.