Approximately 40 percent of women say they “feel uncomfortable” when asked to decide between breast-conserving surgery and radical mastectomy for breast cancer, according to a Canadian study.

Dr. Wally J. Temple and associates at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, conducted a study involving 157 women diagnosed with breast cancer who were all candidates for breast-conserving surgery.

Nonetheless, only 71 percent ultimately expected to have breast-conserving surgery, while the other 29 percent expected a modified radical mastectomy.

The two main factors that influenced women’s treatment choices were her doctor’s advice and the possibility for a complete cure.

Approximately 60 percent of women were satisfied with the degree that they participated in decision-making. That means the decision-making process “made 40 percent of our patients uncomfortable,” Temple and colleagues write in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “This might adversely affect some women’s satisfaction with care.”

“There is a gap between the women’s preferences and actual experiences for the provision of information and participation in treatment; and this gap seems to be worse for information than for participation,” the researchers conclude from their data.

Surgeons could profit from education to decrease bias in assisting women in making a decision, which should improve the number of women choosing breast-conserving surgery if they are candidates, the authors conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, July 20, 2006.