Background of the study respondents
| n | (%) | n | (%) | ||
| Patients (n=447) | Families (n=216) | ||||
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 182 | 40.7 | 50 | 23.1 | p<0.000 |
| Female | 265 | 59.3 | 166 | 26.9 | |
| Age (years) | |||||
| 20–39 | 30 | 6.8 | 21 | 9.7 | p<0.000 |
| 40–59 | 158 | 35.6 | 103 | 47.7 | |
| 60–79 | 231 | 52.0 | 90 | 41.7 | |
| 80+ | 25 | 5.6 | 2 | 0.9 | |
| Previous experience of using CIS | p<0.01 | ||||
| First time | 253 | 58.3 | 157 | 72.7 | |
| Once or twice | 70 | 16.1 | 30 | 13.9 | |
| More than three times | 111 | 25.6 | 29 | 13.4 | |
| Could consult CISC immediately | n.s | ||||
| Strongly agree | 266 | 61.0 | 144 | 68.6 | |
| Somewhat agree | 116 | 26.6 | 51 | 24.3 | |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 34 | 7.8 | 10 | 4.8 | |
| Somewhat disagree | 11 | 2.5 | 4 | 1.9 | |
| Strongly disagree | 9 | 2.1 | 1 | 0.5 | |
| Topics discussed with cancer counsellors (multiple answers) | |||||
| About disease or symptoms | 302 | 67.9 | 145 | 68.7 | n.s |
| About financial problems | 152 | 34.2 | 67 | 31.8 | n.s |
| About social life | 68 | 15.3 | 28 | 13.3 | n.s |
| About relationship with medical staff | 53 | 11.9 | 22 | 10.4 | n.s |
| About discharge or care at home | 28 | 6.3 | 38 | 18.0 | p<0.000 |
| No specific problem but willing to talk with someone | 65 | 14.6 | 19 | 9.0 | p<0.05 |
| Other | 7 | 1.6 | 0 | 0.0 | n.s |
CIS, cancer information service; CISC, Cancer Information Support Centre.