BMJ 2001;323:1160 ( 17 November )

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Should elderly patients be told they have cancer? Questionnaire survey of older people

A Ajaj, specialist registrar, M P Singh, senior house officer, A J J Abdulla, consultant physician. 

Department of Elderly Care, Mid-Staffordshire General Hospitals, Stafford ST18 3SA

Correspondence to: Dr AJJ Abdulla, Department of Elderly Medicine, Orpington Hospital, Orpington, Kent BR6 9JU (AzaAbdulla@bromleyh-tr.sthames.nhs.uk)

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

There is evidence that doctors fail to inform patients when they diagnose cancer^1-3 and that this is more likely in older people. Yet Meredith et al showed that 96% of 250 patients with malignancy wanted to know if their illness was cancer.⁴ Although it is now appreciated that patients want more information about their illness, few studies have specifically targeted elderly people to assess their opinions about cancer and how much they would wish to know about their diagnosis.

	Patients and methods

We produced a questionnaire asking older people's views on how much they would want to know, if they were diagnosed with cancer, about the type of cancer, extent of spread, treatment, and prognosis and also their wishes about informing their families. We also inquired about mobility and living circumstances to determine any association. Patients were recruited from day hospitals and outpatient clinics (74%, n=199) and from the local senior citizen association (26%, . . . [Full text of this article]

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Rapid Responses:

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Should elderly patients be told they havecancer

Arun Jha
bmj.com, 19 Nov 2001 [Full text]

Our patients want to know the diagnosis - telling the truth to patients with cancer.

Rachel Cooper
bmj.com, 4 Dec 2001 [Full text]

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