The intensity of breast cancer patients' relationships with their surgeons after the first meeting: Evidence that relationships are not 'built' but arise from attachment processes

Patients with breast cancer feel an intense sense of relationship with the surgeon from the first meeting, consistent with the view that their sense of relationship arises primarily from their recognition of the surgeon's expertise and authority. The challenge for surgeons is therefore not usually to 'build a relationship' but to support the sense of relationship that patients have from the start.