A Pilot Study to Assess an Oral Anti-Cancer Medication Initiative

The use of oral anti-cancer medication to treat cancer has been increasing over time and is expected to continue to increase in the future. The use of these medicines can be challenging for patients and their families, their clinical team, and health care systems. Because these medications are administered at home, patients and their families are responsible for taking the medicines when they are supposed to, safely handling and storing the medicines, and knowing how to check for side effects. This study will ask questions to understand more about patient experiences with oral anti-cancer medication so we can develop programs to improve our support and education of patients in the future.

Inclusion Criteria

• Age ≥18 years
• Proficient in English or spoken Chinese
• Newly-prescribed oral anti-cancer medication

Exclusion Criteria

• Patient has been taking newly-prescribed oral anti-cancer medication for > 7 days.

Study Requirements

At study entry, participants will complete a questionnaire asking about current symptoms and one about demographic information (for example, education and employment). There will also be three check-ins, which will be either in person or over the phone. The first follow-up check-in will occur approximately one week after beginning to take the new medication. The second will take place at the start of the second medication cycle, and the third will take place before the start of the third cycle. At each check-in, participants will complete a symptom questionnaire and a questionnaire about how they are taking their medicine (medication adherence). Research staff will ask some additional questions about how they are doing with this new oral anti-cancer medication.  It is estimated that each of these follow-up check-ins will take no more than fifteen minutes.