RESUMEN
Background: The management of early breast cancer (BC) needs supervision and skill maintenance, and should be performed by specialists working as a team in multidisciplinary breast units. This approach aims to improve the long-term survival and quality of life of patients with BC. Methods: This was a prospective observational study including patients newly diagnosed with operable BC. The study encompassed the pre-surgical phase, throughout the diagnostic and surgical workout, and included post-therapeutic master multidisciplinary team meetings (MTMs) sessions, between 2019 and 2022. Results: We enrolled 280 patients with BC from eight breast units. The Senonetwork indicators regarding diagnosis, waiting time, loco-regional treatment, and adjuvant therapy were collected for each patient discussed. Conclusions: Overall, the majority of quality indicators were respected among breast units. The most critical issue referred to timing indicators: more than 30 days from MTM to surgery, more than 42 days from diagnosis to surgery, and more than 60 days from the first screening mammogram to surgery for many patients. Some aspects of the histopathological diagnosis of intraductal BC also need to be improved. Furthermore, other critical issues in our study regarded some aesthetical indicators, demonstrating low interest in these essential quality indicators.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To analyze oncological patients' perception of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A total of 345 women, of whom 267 experienced breast cancer and 78 experienced a gynecological cancer, were enrolled. Specific questionnaires about their experiences and feelings about telemedicine in the COVID-19 era were collected. RESULTS: In the breast group, "enhanced care" showed moderate positive perception (mean 4.40) among less-educated women that was slightly lower among better-educated women (mean 4.14) with a significant difference (P = 0.034). "satisfaction" had an opposite pattern: a mean of 3.99 for a lower level of education and 4.78 for a higher level of education, with a strong significant difference (P < 0.001). "privacy and discomfort" approached neutrality for less-educated women, while for higher-educated women the lower mean of 2.93 indicted a more positive perception (P = 0.007). In the pelvic group, younger women had a better perception towards telemedicine for "telemedicine as a substitution" (mean 3.68) compared to older women (mean 3.05). The privacy and discomfort subscale was in favor of better-educated women (mean 2.57) compared to less-educated women (mean 3.28; P = 0.042). CONCLUSION: Telemedicine was generally well accepted, not only among younger and higher-educated women but also by women needing intensive care, in both cancer groups.