Talking with clinicians about online cancer information: a survey of cancer patients and surrogate information seekers

To describe patients’ and surrogate information seekers’ experiences talking to clinicians about online cancer information. To assess the impact of clinicians telling patients or surrogate seekers not to search for information online. Cross-sectional survey. A total of 282 participants, including 185 individuals with cancer and 97 surrogate seekers. Individuals were recruited through a broad consent registry and completed a 20-min survey. Cancer patients and surrogate seekers did not differ significantly in their experiences talking with clinicians about online cancer information. Nearly all patients and surrogate seekers who were told by a clinician not to go online for cancer information did so anyway. Interventions for improving cancer information seeking and communication with clinicians should target both patients and surrogate seekers. Clinicians should be educated about effective ways to communicate with patients and surrogate seekers about online cancer information.