On September the 13th from 14.45h till 16.00h Kelly de Ligt will defend her thesis called "Towards personalised breast cancer care: variation in treatment and follow-up from the patients’ perspective".
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. In general, non-metastasized breast cancer is treated by local surgical intervention, supplemented by radiotherapy, chemotherapy, anti-hormonal therapy, and/or targeted therapy, followed by a minimum of five years of follow-up care at the hospital. Within treatment and follow-up decision-making, several options are available, that each have their own benefits and risks, as well in outcome as in the risk on side and/or late effects of treatment. An individualised treatment plan is developed in dialogue between the physician and patient. When personalised care is provided, i.e., care that is in line with the patients characteristics and preferences, this may cause treatment variation. On the one hand, variation is thus an indication of personalised care – on the other hand, it can also be an indication for suboptimal quality of care or unequal access to care.
In her thesis Kelly focuses on the variation in care for breast cancer patients in the Netherlands. The objective was to investigate whether patient preferences, needs, experiences, outcomes, and shared decision-making can explain the variation observed within treatment for breast cancer in the Netherlands. It looks into three subjects: timing of chemotherapy treatment (either before or after surgery, respectively), application of breast reconstruction, and breast cancer follow-up treatment. The thesis defence is open for all interested parties, and will be in Dutch. Prior to the thesis defence there is a symposium titled "Support of cancer patients: Inform, choose, monitor and empower!". Details on the content and registration can be found here.
