The information to the cancer patient: psychosocial and spiritual implications.
The issue of whether, how and how much to tell cancer patients about their diagnosis and prognosis is confronted in different ways in different countries. This paper reflects my direct experience as a medical oncologist both in the US and in Italy. It is an attempt to describe two different ways of dealing with truth-telling in oncology and to explore their reasons and consequences.
Surbone
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Department of Oncology, Santa Chiara Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
D026686:Beneficence; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007558:Italy; D008495:Medical Oncology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011379:Prognosis; D012924:Social Conditions; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014481:United States