The level of knowledge and awareness about the new diagnostic cancer patients and diseases that apply to the medical oncology polyclinic

Cancer is a life threatening health problem worldwide. Life expectancy has increased in recent years due to the increase in early diagnosis and treatment options. However, cancer is still a serious disease, diagnosis and treatment process is complex. After the diagnosis of cancer, the majority of patients are curious about the causes, course and treatment alternatives of their diseases. At this stage, it is important that patients obtain accurate and satisfactory information from physicians and other sources of information. Increased awareness and level of knowledge contribute to decision making and adaptation to treatment. In this respect, it was aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness level of new diagnosis cancer patients who applied to the Medical Oncology Outpatient Clinic of DEUTF before their medical oncology examinations. A total of 159 patients who were admitted to DEUTF Medical Oncology Outpatient Clinic between 01 January 2018 and 31 March 2018 were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups as patients referred from internal branches and surgical branches. A questionnaire consisting of 21 questions was used to evaluate the knowledge and awareness level of the patients. The questionnaire was completed in 148 of the patients and the questionnaire was completed by interviewing with their relatives in 11 of the patients. The mean age of the patients was 59 ± 14,54, 72 (45.3%) were female and 87 (54,7%) were male. When the patients were asked to give information about their diseases before coming to the medical oncology department, 151 patients (95%) were informed about the disease and 8 patients (5%) stated that they were not given any information. Of the patients who were informed, 140 (88,1%) stated that they had information from their doctor and 11 (6,9%) from their relatives. When the patients were asked about the adequacy of their knowledge about their disease, 45 patients (28,3%) were adequate, 74 patients (46,5%) were partially adequate and 40 patients (25,2%) were inadequate. A significant number of patients with sufficient knowledge (70,3%) also stated that they had applied to different sources of information, primarily internet. 87 (54,7%) of the patients were informed about oncologic therapies and 72 patients (45,3%) were not informed. When the factors affecting the knowledge level of patients were evaluated, the knowledge level (p 0.016) of patients who were older than 65 years of age (p 0,001), patients with monthly income below 1500 TL (p 0,037) and those who were directed from internal branches were significantly more inadequate. In addition, the knowledge level of the patients who had a sufficient time in the outpatient clinic and who explained the disease was significantly better (p <0,001).