Hurricane Voices

Oncologists are the main resource cancer patients turn to when they need answers about their treatment. Unfortunately, many doctors are not sufficiently familiar with the latest medical literature about chemotherapy and brain function, or they trivialize their patients concerns. According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the breast cancer foundation and advocacy organization Hurricane Voices, a majority of patients reported that their medical professionals did not offer constructive advice or assistance to help them cope with cognitive changes. Out of 471 respondents—men and women diagnosed with any type of cancer—63 percent said they conferred with their doctors or caregivers, but only 10 percent were satisfied with the support they received. Further, they said their doctors responses were indifferent and/or dismissive 42 percent of the time. 

It harkens back to a philosophy of paternalism in medicine— doctor knows best —and even somewhat more perilous, if the physician isn t knowledgeable about a subject, it tends to be dismissed, says Janet Colantuono, who created the survey. Colantuono served as executive director of Hurricane Voices after her cousin, Lois Egasti,... 

It was in 2007 that patient advocate Janet Colantuono came up with the idea to collect information directly from cancer patients who had experienced cognitive changes after chemotherapy. She had just attended a workshop in Venice, Italy, where scientists from around the world shared information about this relatively unknown frontier of medicine. In fact, her nonprofit breast cancer foundation. Hurricane Voices, cosponsored the event. 

Courtesy of Colantuono and Hurricane Voices, here are some telling statistics from the Cognitive Changes Related to Cancer Treatment survey results ... 

As reported so dramatically in the Hurricane Voices study, some respondents also noted that because of daily disorganization, their children had taken on adult responsibilities much too soon. Others said their spouses had lost confidence in their abilities and no longer trusted them to handle household or financial chores. 

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