Cancer patient education: reality and potential

Cancer now attacks one in three Americans, resulting in one in six deaths. Yet, until recently, few patient education programs were directed toward cancer patients. This review examines the status of cancer patient education and suggests future directions. We focus on several aspects of cancer patient education, including needs assessments and programs in treatment, rehabilitation, and continuing care and evaluation. The most comprehensive patient education programs are those directed toward patients in active treatment; one of its tasks is to help patients manage treatment side effects. A major component of rehabilitation programs is counseling patients to help them cope with the effects of cancer. Many patient education programs have performed evaluations; most reflect difficulties in one or more areas, such as selecting appropriate measures or accruing adequate sample sizes. We recommend several directions for the future, including the use of appropriate measurement tools, adequate sample sizes, multimodality programs with incorporation of psychological techniques such as relaxation training and guided imagery, and assessment of the impact of patient education programs on costs.