Texans face many difficult decisions in the struggle against cancer. For example, young women diagnosed with cancer must decide about options for preserving their fertility before starting chemotherapy. Men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer must choose between careful monitoring or immediate treatment and risk complications related to sexual function and bladder control. After completing primary treatment for advanced ovarian cancer, women must decide about continuing chemotherapy without knowing if it will delay return of their cancer. People want to be involved in these very personal decisions about their care. Yet, many patients and their families feel unprepared to have these conve...

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Texans face many difficult decisions in the struggle against cancer. For example, young women diagnosed with cancer must decide about options for preserving their fertility before starting chemotherapy. Men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer must choose between careful monitoring or immediate treatment and risk complications related to sexual function and bladder control. After completing primary treatment for advanced ovarian cancer, women must decide about continuing chemotherapy without knowing if it will delay return of their cancer. People want to be involved in these very personal decisions about their care. Yet, many patients and their families feel unprepared to have these conversations with health care providers, and their doctors may not have the tools to help patients make difficult decisions. We will launch The Texas Decision Science Core (the Core), a new resource for cancer researchers interested in helping patients make informed decisions about their care. The Core builds on MD Anderson's expertise in producing state-of-the-science decision support tools for patients and clinicians across the cancer care continuum, from prevention to treatment, survivorship, and advance care planning. These tools include patient decision aids, calculators to help patients understand the risks and benefits of each option, and conversation guides for doctors and patients. We will produce tools suitable for all Texans, including tools in English and Spanish for people with lower literacy. Through a collaboration with UTHealth Houston, the Core will support researchers at other Texas institutions to raise awareness of decision science, produce new decision support tools, and train new cancer researchers. This will be the first core in the state that is focused on creating decision support tools to help patients be fully involved in decisions about their cancer care.

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