title: Future Saudi doctors and cancer patients agree cancer patients should be informed about their cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare attitudes of Saudi medical students and Saudi cancer patients towards disclosure of cancer information and to examine whether differences exist between students and patients, level of education or gender and region of residence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from 384 students and 368 patients using a nine-question questionnaire on attitudes to cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost all patients (98%) wanted to receive all the information should they get cancer compared with 93% of students (P = 0.001) and almost no patients and students wanted the information hidden (99 vs 98%, P = 0.273). If they became ill students were more likely to share information with their family and friends than patients. Fewer than 2% of patients did not want to know the benefits of chemotherapy compared to 3% of students, while 99% of patients wanted to know the side-effects compared to 93% of students (P = 0.095 and P = 0.001, respectively). Almost all patients and students (99 vs 98%) would refuse treatment without knowing their diagnosis (P = 0.401). Patients wanted to know the prognosis more than students (98 vs 92%; P = 0.001). In all, 99% of male students wanted their cancer diagnosis disclosed compared with women (98%; P = 0.615). Gender, education level, regions and age did not affect the desire of cancer patients to know their prognosis (P = 0.275, P = 0.664, P = 0.0314 and P = 0.164, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was a consensus among cancer patients and medical students that cancer information, including diagnosis, treatment effects and prognosis, should be disclosed to patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine/Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Dammam, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ali M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Al-Amri
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cancer; information; patient; prognosis; student