PATIENTS BELIEFS ABOUT CANCER MANAGEMENT

The results of a questionnaire answered by 205 medical patients are re ported (100 patients with cancer and 105 with other medical conditions ). The questionnaire examined beliefs and preferences regarding variou s aspects of cancer, including expectations of medical management and treatment, The issues examined relate to beliefs and preferences about in formation giving, trust of doctors' control of decision making, ex pectations of help, expectations of treatment, the treatment of cancer pain including morphine use, and issues of terminal care, Some patien ts appear to hold the inconsistent beliefs that doctors should tell th em all they want to know, but that doctors do not know a lot of what t hey would like to be told, They were also ambivalent about who should make decisions, patient or doctor, suggesting a preference for collabo rative consensus decision making, It may be important to inform patien ts more clearly about what doctors can and cannot reasonably be expect ed to know and do, Some incorrect beliefs about management were relate d to fear about having cancer, The results suggest the need for better communication between patients and their professional carers and the need for accessible health in formation about cancer management to be available to the general public.