Most cancer patients like full access to records

Cancer patients who were given full access to their medical records at the beginning of treatment said the records helped them understand and discuss their disease with others, and they weren't any more anxious than other patients in a new study from France. While there has been a trend toward increasing patients' access to their own medical information, some doctors fear that giving full records to patients will increase their anxiety, the authors note in the journal Cancer. But Dave deBronkart, a prominent blogger on patient involvement since his own recovery from advanced kidney cancer, argues that full access is helpful. deBronkart, who blogs as "e-patient Dave," told Reuters Health by email, "Detailed information on the disease is important for the patient to make informed decisions. It also allows the patient and family to cope better."