Ethical and medicolegal issues in pediatric oncology.
All the concerns of medical ethics in the care of cancer in adults pertain to the management of cancer in children. The differences in the ethical dilemmas stem from the status of the child in society, and the consequent view we have on the degree of meaningful participation that can be given children in their care. Much of that view of the rights of the child has little to do with the fact that the child has cancer. However, the presence of a life-threatening illness makes us more extreme in our ideas and less willing to compromise our view of what is proper for a child. The very elaborate, self-sustaining structure within which children with cancer are treated makes it very difficult to examine the questions as individuals. Nevertheless, we must do so continually to remain ethically sound and morally justified.
van Eys
J
J
Division of Pediatrics, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston.
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology; D033242:Minors; D028681:Moral Obligations; D033282:Parental Consent; D010358:Patient Participation; D010372:Pediatrics; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D036302:Therapeutic Human Experimentation