Table 2 Definitions of patients’ reasons for refusing adjuvant chemotherapy
Reasons patients refused adjuvant chemotherapy | Definition |
|---|---|
Toxicity concerns | A perceived potential toxicity side effect (e.g. hair loss, excessive nausea and vomiting). |
Co-morbidities | A medical condition or chronic disease preceding the onset of cancer and perceived by patient as a barrier to tolerating chemotherapy (e.g. coronary heart disease, heart failure, kidney or liver failure) |
Transportation | Difficulty reaching the treatment facility due to either unavailability of means of transportation or cost of transportation |
Age | Patient age was the reason or one of the reasons for refusing chemotherapy (e.g. patient felt they have lived long enough, perceived limited life expectancy) |
No social network or support | Lack of social, emotional, or physical support |
Other | Reasons stated other than those listed above (e.g. fear of injections) |
Unclear | Reason(s) for refusing chemotherapy are vague and not clearly stated |