What elderly cancer patients want to know? Differences among elderly and young patients

The aims of our study were: (1) to evaluate the information needs of Italian elderly cancer patients (age >= 65 years), (2) to compare them with those of young patients (age 18-40 years). Between June 2004 and February 2005 we asked 122 elderly (mean age 72 years) and 52 young (mean age 33 years) cancer patients naive for treatment to fill in two setf-administered questionnaires exploring their needs for information and their psychological distress. The needs for information of elderly patients differed significantly from those of the young patients (p < 0.0001); on contrast, both groups showed a similar psychological distress and the same reasons for seeking further information. Our results demonstrate that, more frequently than expected, Italian elderly cancer patients do not want complete information on their disease. Assessing to what extent elderly patients require information is essential for giving them tailored information. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.