Patients’ perspectives and the perceptions of healthcare providers in the treatment of early rectal cancer; a qualitative study

Table 1 Characteristics of patients

Participant	Sex	Treatment	Ostomy	Follow-up^a(months)	Education^b
1	Female	CRT	No	46	Bachelor or equivalent
2	Male	TME	Temporary	34	Bachelor or equivalent
3	Female	CRT	No	29	Short-cycle tertiary education
4	Male	TME	No	29	Bachelor or equivalent
5	Male	WW	No	24	Master or equivalent
6	Female	TME	Temporary	21	Bachelor or equivalent
7	Male	CRT	No	12	Bachelor or equivalent
8	Female	TME	Temporary	7	Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
9	Male	CRT	No	5	Post-secondary non-tertiary education
10	Male	WW	No	5	Upper secondary

CRT chemoradiotherapy, TME total mesorectal excision, WW watchful waiting local excision only
^aTime between treatment and interview
^bEducation level according to the international standard classification of education 2011

ISSN: 1471-2407