Expectations of Patients with a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer When Meeting the Psycho-Oncologist: Beyond the Assistance of the Oncologist

Objective: Cancer patients consider the oncologist as their main resource insofar as the medical needs generally take precedence over psychological needs. Nevertheless, the psychological inter-vention is also important. The systematic consultation implemented in our hospital after a diag-nosis of cancer is a manner to answer patients ’ psychological needs. In a survey, we assessed the satisfaction and expectations of the patients about this consultation. Methods: One year after a di-agnosis of breast cancer, 104 patients answered a retrospective questionnaire assessing: socio-demographic data, cancer medical information, systematic consultation satisfaction, patients ’ ex-pectations for a systematic intervention, and patients ’ characteristics who began a psychological follow-up. Results: 72.1 % of the patients were satisfied with having the opportunity to consult a psychologist during a systematic consultation after cancer diagnosis. Their expectations were t