Abstract PO4-11-05: The “Couples Coping with Cancer Together Program” provides insight into individual’s distress and an opportunity to discuss prognosis in a manner that is normalized as standard of care
Authors: Mortimer Joanne , Romig Kimberly , Cuevas Claudia , Thomas Lynne , Waisman James , Clark Karen , Razavi Marianne , Loscalzo Matthew 
Published: May 2024

Background: For both the patient and their partner, high levels of cohesion/communication are beneficial to coping with cancer. Prognosis alignment in couples has implications for medical care and end of life planning. The objectives of this study were to: assess areas of psychosocial distress endorsed by the patient and her partner and to determine each individual’s understanding of prognosis.

Methods: Women with metastatic breast cancer and their partners completed a couples’ tailored biopsychosocial screening and alignment in perception of prognosis immediately before the initial consultation with a Medical Oncologist. In addition, the couples were offered a standardized couples’ session before the medical consultation, individual couples’ counseling, and a strengths-based group intervention. As a component of biopsychosocial screening, each patient and her partner were asked individually their understanding of the patient’s prognosis as “What is your understanding of the medical situation?” They were asked their understanding of the likelihood of cure with supporting text and percentages provided: 76-100%; 51-75%; 26-50%, or 0-25%.

Results: To date 241 women and their partners are included in this analysis. All the patients had metastatic breast cancer and were being evaluated by a Medical Oncologist. The majority of the patients, 67%, were &gt; 50 years of age (Range 18-79years), 85% had an advanced degree (&gt; high school); 93% selected English as their preferred language, and 100% completed the prognosis question. Five of the top 10 causes of distress were shared by the patient and her partner. These included: Feeling anxious or fearful, worry about the future, sleeping, fatigue, and managing multiple demands. Additional concerns of the patient included: side effects of treatment, understanding my treatment options, how my family will cope, fear of medical procedures and physical appearance. The partners endorsed: Best help my partner, losing control, talk about end of life, feeling down and depressed, and finances. The partner understood the prognosis to be more favorable than the patient.

Conclusions: It is feasible to introduce a prognosis question for both patient and her partner as standard of care. Given the importance of open communication amongst the patient, partner, and physician regarding advanced care planning, there is the potential to decrease the devastation of decisional regret in both patient and partner.

Citation Format: Joanne Mortimer, Kimberly Romig, Claudia Cuevas, Lynne Thomas, James Waisman, Karen Clark, Marianne Razavi, Matthew Loscalzo. The “Couples Coping with Cancer Together Program” provides insight into individual’s distress and an opportunity to discuss prognosis in a manner that is normalized as standard of care [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-11-05.