What do patients want from their radiation oncologist? Initial results from a prospective trial.

Purpose: To assess patients' initial physician preferences using a newly developed instrument.

Methods And Materials: A total of 182 patients with a primary diagnosis of prostate, breast, or lung cancer referred for consultation to the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Department of Radiation Oncology enrolled in our institutional review board-approved protocol. All patients completed patient preference instrument surveys before meeting their radiation oncologist.