Is therapeutic non-disclosure still possible? A study on the awareness of cancer diagnosis in China.
OBJECTIVE
The objectives are to study cancer patients' awareness of their diagnosis and to determine who tends to disclose bad news to cancer patients.


METHODS
A total of 151 consecutive oral and maxillofacial cancer patients and their relatives were surveyed using semi-structured interviews.


RESULTS
Of the 151 patients, 64.2% were aware of their cancer diagnosis. Of this group, 20.6% had been told by physicians and 17.5% were informed by relatives, with the remaining 61.9% acquiring the diagnosis on their own. The more educated patients were more likely to be aware they had cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite efforts by family members to conceal cancer diagnoses from patients, the majority of patients discovered the diagnosis of their own accord. This finding suggests that therapeutic non-disclosure is not very effective at withholding the truth from patients.
Wang
Dian-can
DC
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, 22 South Zhongguancun Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, People's Republic of China.
Guo
Chuan-bin
CB
Peng
Xin
X
Su
Yan-jie
YJ
Chen
Fan
F
D022126:Access to Information; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D028701:Patient Rights; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D055815:Young Adult