Perception and reaction of cancer patients to the diagnosis of cancer and their attitude towards disclosure of diagnosis: Local perspective from Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

e19524 Background: Understanding the attitudes of cancer patients towards different cancer related issues is important for care delivery. However, in Saudi, there is yet no clear knowledge about the patient’s perception of cancer diagnosis or preferences regarding the disclosure of information. This study explored that area. Methods: The subjects were adult cancer patients who attended the outpatient clinics at King Faisal cancer center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They completed a validated questionnaire of six sections. In this abstract, we present the data of the first three sections: The first section is about the sociodemographic characteristics, the second explores the patient’s perception and reaction to the diagnosis, and the third enquires about the patient’s preference regarding the disclosure of diagnosis. Estimated sample size: 225. Results: 234 patients participated. Age range: 15-86, median: 40.5 y. Males: 61.5%. 12.4% from suburban areas. 41.5% had higher than high school education. 76% had annual income < $32,000. Regarding of what they thought to be the cause of their cancers, 42.4% thought that someone’s envy or eye of evil was the cause, and 11.7% thought it was environmental, while 44.2% could not attribute to any cause. About the disclosure of diagnosis, 34.5% were not the first to know about the diagnosis. However, 78% thought that no one should know about the diagnosis before the patient, but 33.5% agreed that family may know at the same time. For decision making, 40% wanted to take decision by themselves, while 52.4% wanted the family to participate in making decisions. Conclusions: In contrast to the public attitude regarding the disclosure of diagnosis, this study shows that majority of cancer patients believed that no one should know about the diagnosis before themselves. This result will help the current national debate. Also, it shows large proportion of patients believe of a metaphysical etiology for their diseases, which may affect their choices and directions. A similar study in the community is recommended to include patients who do not seek conventional treatments.