[Patients' experiences--indications for treatment quality in breast cancer surgery]

After the establishment of a centralised unit for the surgical treatment of breast cancer in the county of Copenhagen, Denmark, a number of parameters concerning the quality of patients' in-hospital stay were established. A survey of patients' experiences was done via a questionnaire in which they described their satisfaction level.

Two questionnaires including 43 questions were sent to 400 women recently operated on for primary breast cancer. They were returned by 269 patients, who were included in the study.

The patients indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the general aspects of their hospital stay, but problems and possible areas of future improvement were also identified.

Even with a malignant diagnosis and a short hospital stay, patients may regard the treatment course positively if and when the course is firmly anchored in well-established quality goals.