Sam Smith on Improving Adherence in Patients with Breast Cancer

Sam Smith, PhD, from the University of Leeds, discusses strategies to improve adherence that is affected by menopausal symptoms.

While attending the 2016 Meeting of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Smith presented results of a trial studying how misattributing menopausal symptoms to tamoxifen therapy could create non-adherence in patients with breast cancer. Two interventions Smith suggests are cognitive behavior therapy and more accurate discussion with providers. If the patients are more aware of and better understand the symptoms, they are more likely to adhere to the treatment.