In 2024, researchers worked with breast cancer patients and pharmacists to support patients concerned about their hormone therapy brand. Find out how Voices have supported the project, and what’s next.
What’s the title of the study?
‘Medication brand changes in hormone therapy for breast cancer. A community pharmacy intervention development to improve patients' adherence and quality of life. ENABLE’
Prof Yolanda Eraso, Principal Investigator. Funded by NIHR (206589)
What’s the project about?
Lots of people living beyond primary breast cancer find it hard to complete the full course of hormone therapy. About half of all patients stop taking the therapy within 5 years.
There are many reasons to stop the treatment, but the main one is the side effects. These can include menopause-like symptoms such as hot flushes, depression, lower sex drive, joint pain, fatigue, and low energy levels.
The researchers previously found that when people switch brands for hormone therapy, it can cause more side effects. This might happen when pharmacists change the brand they stock. Pharmacists also said that they’d like to have training about what people need, and how they can best support people taking hormone therapy for breast cancer.
So, the researchers decided to develop some resources to help pharmacists and patients have constructive and supportive conversations around this.
How did Voices get involved?
Breast Cancer Voices were invited to get involved in the research to develop the resources. They’ve taken part in 2 co-production workshops, and some Voices are also on the patient advisory board for the project.
The Voices made sure that all of the resources are shaped by people affected by breast cancer. Working with the pharmacists also helps Voices understand the challenges they can face. This will make sure that the tools will benefit both pharmacists and people taking hormone therapy for breast cancer.
What’s happened so far?
The researchers have now developed the resource, which include:
- A symptom diary for patients
- A medication consultation guide for pharmacists
- An e-learning package for pharmacists.
In the workshops, they worked with pharmacists to develop the content of the resources. This included a diary for women to record their side effects, and a consultation guide for pharmacists, which gives advice on how to support patients.
In the workshops, the attendees gave feedback on the language, layout and content to make sure the resources meet the needs of people taking hormone therapy. They also talked about other issues such as confidentiality.
In the patient advisory board, the members also gave feedback on the design of the resources and helped shape their development. One member of the board is also co-applicant in the study as public and patient involvement and engagement lead.
The researchers have also asked healthcare professionals to review the e-learning for the pharmacists.
What are the next steps?
The researchers are now working with community pharmacists in North Central London to test the resources.
Pharmacists are recruiting breast cancer patients who’ve had new or worse side effects after changing medication brand. They’ll work with them to test how well the resources help pharmacists to support patients in this area.