Unité de Recherche en Santé des Populations, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Affilié Universitaire de Québec, QC, Canada. elizabeth.maunsell@uresp.ulaval.ca
Medical records are considered the gold standard for information on cancer treatments and prognosis. We compared survivor self-report and medical records for agreement on key treatment and prognostic characteristics.
A population-based study was conducted in Quebec assessing work experience among breast cancer survivors aged /=4, unknown) was slightly lower (0.85) but was still excellent. When accepting answers +/-1 month of the medical record date, >/=89% of women correctly reported different treatment dates.
These results provide evidence of the validity of summary treatment and prognostic data reported by breast cancer survivors 3 years after diagnosis. Survivors can likely accurately describe the treatment trajectory and key prognostic information when medical record review is unfeasible. These findings may need replication among older women.