[Information for patients with cancer of the colon: results of a survey of gastroenterologists, surgeons, and oncologists of the North region].

This regional survey was aimed to detect hypothetical variations in attitudes among truth telling in colon cancer by an anonymous questionnaire sent to the 290 gastroenterologists, surgeons and oncologists of the Northern France area. The answers were assessed as always (A), often (O), rarely and never. Diagnosis was revealed to the patient (whether or not he asked the question) or to his spouse in 83%, 40% and 93% of the cases, respectively. The diagnosis of diffuse metastasis was revealed (A + O) to the patient or to his spouse in 23% and 95% of the cases, respectively. Only 3% of the physicians told (A + O) the patient that his condition was incurable while this aspect was A + O revealed to the patient's spouse in 34% of the cases. Most of the time, the diagnosis of colon cancer was revealed by oncologists rather than by surgeons or gastroenterologists. Conversely the full truth was more commonly told to the family by surgeons and gastroenterologists than by oncologists. We found variation in attitudes towards truth telling in colon cancer which depend on the physician's specialty. It seems to us that the magnitude of the full truth told to the patient or his family in Northern France area, is somewhat intermediate between the attitude of doctors in Northern Europe and in Latin Mediterranean or Eastern Europe countries.