REPRESENTATION OF CANCER BY GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS - DEVELOPMENT OVER 15 YEARS

Fifteen years after two surveys among general practitioners in the Sou thwest of France, concerning their attitudes towards cancer patients, a new survey was made using the same questions. In the spring of 1991, 731 general practitioners in Gironde were asked by a written question naire sent by mail: 261 answers (36%) forming a fair sample, were anal yzed. Though incidence of cancer in physician's practice is low, these patients represent an important burden. Difficulties in coping with t hese patients during relapse or at the end of life are mainly psycholo gical in relation to the importance of moral burden and the time spent . These psychological difficulties have increased during the past 15 y ears whereas technical medical problems have decreased. According to 8 0% general practitioners, cancer patients know their diagnosis. This k nowledge is independent of practitioner's age and the working place, a nd it does not alter the difficulties for practitioner.