Cancer information: a cost-effective intervention

There is a considerable knowledge base about the information needs of patie nts with cancer (and their relatives and friends). Those needs will vary ac cording to the disease, the stage of disease, the patient and his or her ag e, social class and culture. Lack of information may lead to increased anxi ety and distress, may impact negatively on the patient's satisfaction and m ay influence a patient's treatment choices. Other articless in this special edition deal with psychosocial interventions and complementary therapies f or cancer patients and explore their efficacy. The reality is that these ar e unlikely to be made available to all cancer patients for reasons of cost and practicability. Information, however, is a relatively cheap interventio n that could-and should-be part of standard care. This article explores som e of the research about the provision of information for cancer patients. ( C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.