Cancer patient education: what, where, and by whom?

Cancer patients and their families experience numerous psychological, physiological, informational, and educational needs. In response to these needs, health care professionals are planning and implementing educational activities that range from standard one-to-one patient teaching sessions to more sophisticated educational programs involving groups of patients and their families. These activities are occurring in hospitals, outpatient clinics, physicians' offices, and in the community. Health care professionals are relying on printed educational materials and a variety of audiovisual resources to reinforce verbal communication with patients and their families. During the diagnostic and treatment phases of the patients' illness, the educational activities are designed to allay apprehensions and provide patients with knowledge about specific tests and procedures. In the posttreatment and rehabilitation phases, patients are given important information and taught self-care techniques and skills to cope with their disease. Innovative teaching strategies, such as imagery, are being used to help meet the special needs of cancer patients. The challenge to the educator is to recognize the patients' varied needs and to determine which educational strategies are most effective generally and are most effective at what stage during the patients' illness.