Influence of client diagnosis--cancer--on counselor decisions.

Numerous authorities have pointed to the fear of cancer among professionals as a stumbling block to service delivery for cancer patients. Yet systematic efforts to study the parameters and ramifications of this impact on health-care delivery personnel are few. In this study, 34 practicing counselors were asked to complete a series of tasks related to counseling and service delivery with the cancer patient. Ss were administered Form O of the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale to assess their attitudes toward individuals with 4 disease-related disabilities (i.e. renal failure, heart disease, cancer, and paraplegia). Results strongly support general conclusions in the literature that counselors are likely to provide less counseling and case services to cancer patients than to patients with other equally devastating disease-related disabilities. A relationship was demonstrated between case service, attitudes toward the cancer patient, and personal fear of cancer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)