Cancer diagnosis disclosure in a northern Italian hospital. Report on 312 consecutive cancer patients.

To evaluate cancer diagnosis disclosure in a cohort of cancer patients attending an outpatient oncology unit, a prospective observational study was performed. Three hundred twelve consecutive patients were accrued between January and June 2005. A questionnaire was given to each patient; the questions were very simple and related to demographics, residence, sex, educational background, employment status, time elapsed after diagnosis, treatment received, existence of relatives, and health insurance.