Negative attitudes about the treatment of cancer have been shown to be widespread in the general public, as well as among health care professionals. Several researchers have suggested that these attitudes can be changed by education and exposure to the latest information about oncological care. This study examined attitudes of nurses with varying exposure to the field of oncology: medical/surgical nurses with no oncology experience, inpatient oncology nurses, and student nurses. All nurses were given identical social histories, with the exception that half of the nurses were told the patient was diagnosed as having cancer, while the other half was given a patient diagnosis of coronary heart disease. The results revealed essential agreement between the three nurse groups for the prognosis of the patient. All three groups held a more pessimistic view of the prognosis of the patient with cancer than of the patient with coronary heart disease. The results suggest that education and level of oncological experience alone may not be sufficient to change stereotypical attitudes about cancer.