Patient frustration with time spent on advanced ovarian and metastatic breast cancer care
11 affiliations
- 1Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- 2Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, 420 Delaware Street SE MMC 395, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
- 3Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- 4Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, 2221 University Ave SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA; Department of Statistics, Grinnell College, 1116 8th Ave, Grinnell, IA, 50112, USA
- 5Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA; Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- 6Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA; Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- 7Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
- 8Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1700 6th Ave S, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
- 9Divisions of Hematology & Oncology and Gerontology, Geriatrics, & Palliative Care, University of Alabama at Birmingham, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2000 6th Ave S, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
- 10Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, University of Minnesota, 2221 University Ave SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA
- 11Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA; Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
Abstract
Objective: While cancer treatment requires a significant time commitment, the objective time spent does not necessarily reflect a patient's perceived time burden. To understand which specific aspects of care are most burdensome, we sought to quantify frustration with time spent on various cancer care-related tasks among individuals receiving treatment for advanced ovarian or metastatic breast cancer. Methods: Upon enrolling in a longitudinal study, 83 participants completed a baseline survey regarding frustration with time spent on cancer care tasks. Frustration was measured on a scale of 0 (not at all frustrating) to 10 (extremely frustrating) for cancer care-related activities including travel, waiting, appointments, and logistical tasks. Scores were compared by employment status, dependent status, and distance from the cancer clinic using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: Median frustration scores for most tasks were low, but ranges were wide. Activities associated with the greatest frustration included number of trips to the cancer center, travel time per trip, wait times, and paperwork. Participants receiving disability benefits reported high frustration with nearly all tasks. Additionally, participants with dependents reported greater frustration with the number of trips, paperwork, time off work, and organizing dependent care. Participants living 30+ miles from the cancer center reported more frustration with travel time per trip and arranging transportation. Conclusion: Time-related frustrations in cancer care are not uniform and more heavily impact participants who are on disability, have dependents, or experience geographic barriers. Individualized care coordination and optimized systemic workflows may minimize care-related time burden for these vulnerable populations.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{dona2026patient,
title = {{Patient frustration with time spent on advanced ovarian and metastatic breast cancer care}},
author = {Allison Dona and Sarah J. Boyle and Patricia Jewett and Zuofu Huang and Helen M. Parsons and Deanna Teoh and Yingling Fan and Rebecca Arend and Nicole L. Henderson and Gabrielle Rocque and Julian Wolfson and Anne Blaes and Rachel I. Vogel},
journal = {Gynecologic Oncology Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.gore.2026.102233},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gore.2026.102233},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Patient frustration with time spent on advanced ovarian and metastatic breast cancer care
AU - Allison Dona
AU - Sarah J. Boyle
AU - Patricia Jewett
AU - Zuofu Huang
AU - Helen M. Parsons
AU - Deanna Teoh
AU - Yingling Fan
AU - Rebecca Arend
AU - Nicole L. Henderson
AU - Gabrielle Rocque
AU - Julian Wolfson
AU - Anne Blaes
AU - Rachel I. Vogel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Gynecologic Oncology Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.gore.2026.102233
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gore.2026.102233
AB - Objective: While cancer treatment requires a significant time commitment, the objective time spent does not necessarily reflect a patient's perceived time burden. To understand which specific aspects of care are most burdensome, we sought to quantify frustration with time spent on various cancer care-related tasks among individuals receiving treatment for advanced ovarian or metastatic breast cancer. Methods: Upon enrolling in a longitudinal study, 83 participants completed a baseline survey regarding frustration with time spent on cancer care tasks. Frustration was measured on a scale of 0 (not at all frustrating) to 10 (extremely frustrating) for cancer care-related activities including travel, waiting, appointments, and logistical tasks. Scores were compared by employment status, dependent status, and distance from the cancer clinic using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: Median frustration scores for most tasks were low, but ranges were wide. Activities associated with the greatest frustration included number of trips to the cancer center, travel time per trip, wait times, and paperwork. Participants receiving disability benefits reported high frustration with nearly all tasks. Additionally, participants with dependents reported greater frustration with the number of trips, paperwork, time off work, and organizing dependent care. Participants living 30+ miles from the cancer center reported more frustration with travel time per trip and arranging transportation. Conclusion: Time-related frustrations in cancer care are not uniform and more heavily impact participants who are on disability, have dependents, or experience geographic barriers. Individualized care coordination and optimized systemic workflows may minimize care-related time burden for these vulnerable populations.
SN - 2352-5789
ER -