Why many oncologists fail to share accurate prognoses: They care deeply for their patients

Although most patients with cancer wish to know their prognosis, oncologists often fail to initiate timely and repeated discussions of prognosis with their patients. This gap, rooted in physicians' deep care and optimism for their patients, may be narrowed by 3 complementary approaches: asking...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inCancer Vol. 126; no. 6; pp. 1163 - 1165
Main Authors Abernethy, Eli Rowe, Campbell, Gavin Paul, Pentz, Rebecca D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 15.03.2020
Subjects
clinician prediction of survival (CPS)
Communication
Empathy
Humans
Neoplasms - diagnosis
Neoplasms - psychology
Oncologists - psychology
oncology
Paternalism
Patient Preference
patient preference tools
Physicians
physician‐patient relationship
Prognosis
prognostic tools
Truth Disclosure
paternalism
clinician prediction of survival (CPS)
patient preference tools
prognostic tools
physician-patient relationship
prognosis
oncology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Although most patients with cancer wish to know their prognosis, oncologists often fail to initiate timely and repeated discussions of prognosis with their patients. This gap, rooted in physicians' deep care and optimism for their patients, may be narrowed by 3 complementary approaches: asking simple questions to open up the discussion, assessing patient preferences, and using prognostic tools that can help with the accuracy of prognoses.
Bibliography:SourceType-Other Sources-1
content type line 63
ObjectType-Editorial-2
ObjectType-Commentary-1
ObjectType-Article-3
ISSN:0008-543X
1097-0142
DOI:10.1002/cncr.32635