Because patients with advanced lung cancer have a poor prognosis, healthcare staff should treat and support them with sensitivity without placing them under necessary strain. A common way of revealing patients' psychological needs is to rely on questionnaires where predefined potential problem areas are examined. Another and less common way of detecting their needs is to focus on the patients' concrete everyday-experiences in their contacts with health care. In this study, 23 consecutive patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer were asked to describe their experiences in dealing with their healthcare providers. Data were analysed qualitatively by categorising the incidents according to content. It emerged that 'being connected to health care' and being 'acknowledged as a person' were by far the most prominent dimensions. Very few incidents were directly related to 'information'. The results suggest that in oncology it is important to call attention to the fact that the patient-physician relationship cannot be reduced to the communication of information. Other dimensions are worth considering.