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

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Abstract
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%, n=71). Patients with dementia or a history of cancer were excluded.