A Patient-Centred Approach to the Ethical Dilemma of Breaking Bad News to Cancer Patients: Recommendation for Better Communication Strategy (ACRCI) - Iris Publishers

A Patient-Centred Approach to the Ethical Dilemma of Breaking Bad News to Cancer Patients: Recommendation for Better Communication Strategy (ACRCI) - Iris Publishers

It is important to start this article with a vignette that clearly expresses the impetus behind taking the time and effort to do this research work. Two years ago, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and had to visit a well-known surgical oncologist to confirm the diagnosis. As we walked into the clinic, I noticed the physician’s title in the sign as “Surgeon” without reference to his oncology specialization. After I seated her, I walked to the medical secretary and asked about the reason for not including “oncology” in the doctor’s title. He explained that many families of cancer patients particularly from lower socioeconomic classes, or those coming from rural areas do not disclose the bad news to the patients in fear of damaging their morale. He claimed that this practice works well in several cases and actually helps recovery. This incident raised many questions in my mind as this casual observer spotted a pattern worthy of triggering interesting research that is interdisciplinary among many fields of study where insights of psychologists, communication specialists, clinical pharmacists (responsible for patient education), oncologists, lawyers and ethicists could lead to better recommendations for communicating the first diagnosis to cancer patients. I embarked on an extensive literature review to find that many original manuscripts are in languages other than English and that the most recent review was published more than a decade ago. 

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