Effective communication skills are the key to good cancer care

Communication within oncology is a core clinical skill but one in which few oncologists or specialist cancer nurses have received much formal training . Inadequate communication may cause much distress for patients and their f amilies, who often want considerably more information than is usually provi ded. Many patients leave consultations unsure about the diagnosis and progn osis, confused about the meaning of-and need for-further diagnostic tests, unclear about the management plan and uncertain about the true therapeutic intent of treatment. Additionally, communication difficulties may impede th e recruitment of patients to clinical trials, delaying the introduction of efficacious new treatments into clinics. Lack of effective communication be tween specialists and departments can also cause confusion and a loss of co nfidence amongst the team. Oncologists themselves acknowledge that insuffic ient training in communication and management skills is a major factor cont ributing to their own stress, lack of job satisfaction and emotional burnou t. Consequently, over the past few years there have been several initiative s aimed at improving basic communication skills training for healthcare pro fessionals in the cancer field. In this paper, some of the issues that infl uence communication within an oncology setting, and ultimately affect patie nt care, are discussed. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.