PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:~I. To assess patient health literacy and understanding of critical radiation information during consultation in Spanish and English speaking patient in the department of radiation oncology at Los Angeles County (LAC) + University of Southern California (USC) utilizing a patient survey administered after consultation.~SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:~I. Correlate findings of radiation comprehension and satisfaction with validated measures of health literacy, acculturation, and socioeconomic status of patients.~TERTIARY OBJECTIVE:~I. To assess patient satisfaction of interpreter service in Spanish-speaking patients among breast and prostate cancer patients receiving definitive radiation.~OUTLINE:~Patients complete a survey over 5-10 minutes about their understanding of radiation therapy.
This study assesses the health literacy and understanding of radiation therapy information during consultation in patients with prostate or breast cancer undergoing definitive radiation therapy. Health literacy is defined as the capacity to obtain, process, and understand health information and services to enable sound health decisions. Information gained from this study, may help researchers develop appropriate modalities to enhance comprehension of radiation therapy, and therefore allow for improved patient decision making with medical treatment.