(January 16, 2009 - Insidermedicine) Many patients prefer telephone follow-up after breast cancer treatment, a practice which does not appear to compromise their overall health, according to a survey published in the British Medical Journal.

Here is some information on breast self-examination:

•    Recommending routine self-examination has become controversial after research demonstrated that it does not lower death rates.

•    Advantages of breast self-examination are that it is free, safe, and relatively easy to learn.

•    Disadvantages of breast self-examination are that it may result in doctor's visits or medical tests that turn out not to be necessary.

Researchers from the University of Manchester randomly assigned nearly 400 women treated for breast cancer to receive follow-up in person or via telephone. All participants received mammograms as per hospital protocols, but only those who received clinic-based follow-up underwent breast examinations.

Women followed-up by telephone were no more anxious about their condition than those followed-up in person, and they expressed greater satisfaction with their care. There was no difference between the two groups with respect to the number of additional tests ordered, recurrence rates, or the time it took to detect the presence of a recurrence.

Today's research demonstrates that telephone follow-up for breast cancer patients, and possibly other cancer patients, is feasible without compromising quality of patient care.

For Insidermedicine in Depth, I'm Dr. Susan Sharma.