Disclosure of cancer diagnosis: the Greek experience.

Purpose: To analyze the attitude of Greek health professionals towards truth disclosure and factors that may influence it.

Methods: Through a self-completed questionnaire, we studied the attitudes over the initial disclosure of cancer diagnosis to cancer patients of 132 doctors and 123 nurses, partly involved in cancer patients' care, in 5 general hospitals of Crete, Greece.

Results: Eighty-nine percent of the participants considered information as patient's right and 88% as professional's ethical duty, 64% believed that the whole truth should be revealed, 90% avoided the word "cancer" in the communication and 39% disclosed cancer diagnosis at patient's direct asking.

Usefulness of thoracoscopic surgery in the diagnosis and management of thoracic diseases.

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been recently utilised in the diagnosis and management of thoracic diseases. In this article we report our series of patients with established indications for VATS treatment.

Methods: Over the past 6 years we performed 104 VATS procedures for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in 95 men and 39 women.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in the diagnosis and treatment of chest diseases.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been used recently in the diagnosis and management of thoracic diseases. In this report, VATS experience with 95 cases, focusing on indications, surgical procedures, complications, and failure rates, are reviewed. Over the past 5 years, 95 VATS procedures for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes were performed in 59 men and 36 women.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in the diagnosis of lung disease. The Cretan experience.

Background: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been recently utilised in the diagnosis and management of thoracic diseases. In this report we reviewed our VATS experience for biopsy of diffuse or localised lung diseases in 51 cases focusing on indications, operative procedures, complications or failures rates.

Patients And Methods: Over the last 5 years we performed 51 VATS procedures for diagnostic purposes in 32 men and 19 women.