Patient reported experiences of health care, quality of life and preoperative information in colon cancer.

Background and purpose: Cancer may create problems and needs associated with impaired quality of life (QoL). The first health care encounter is important to enable patients to cope and may ultimately impact QoL. The aim of this study was to describe the patients' experiences of encounters with health care professionals. Another aim was to explore the possible impact that the encounters may have on QoL 1 year after a colon cancer diagnosis. We also wanted to investigate whether patients had received information about treatment related side-effects.

Patients and methods: This substudy within the QoLiCOL (Quality of Life in COLon cancer) study included 1687 patients (male n = 876, female n = 811, mean age 71) between 2015 and 2019. Questionnaires were answered at diagnosis and after 1 year. QoL was self-assessed with a seven-point Likert scale. Analyses were performed using descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression.

Results: A total of 1,550 patients (91.9%) reported feeling well received by health care professionals. We found no statistically significant association with QoL. Patients (87%) reported feeling well informed about their treatment, but few patients recalled having received information regarding potential side effects on bowel or sexual function.

Interpretation: Patients with colon cancer generally had a positive experience of the encounter with health care where they felt both well received and well informed. However, the amount of relevant information received was scarce. This indicates that it may be difficult to identify whether patients are properly informed prior to treatment for colon cancer only by asking if they feel well informed.