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Table 2 Colorectal cancer advice typologies

From: Incorporating patient and family preferences into evidence-based medicine

Forms of family advice

Examples

Casual

[Did your husband advocate seeking more information or further testing?]

Patient: “Well he figured I should go to the doctor more often.”

Urgent

Patient: “They all thought maybe it could’ve been a change of life, and I told them about my ulcers and they thought maybe that [could] be it…[W]hen the symptoms were getting worse and I wasn’t feeling any better, they said ‘You need to go to the doctor’s and you need to go as soon as possible.’”

Advice based on others’ experiences

[Advice from an aunt]

Patient: “I said I told her I know something’s going on. I said, ‘I’m glad that you stopped by because you and I have the same symptoms going on.’ I said, ‘let me know what your doctor that you went to says.’”