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Ethical Issues in Disclosing Bad News to Cancer Patients: Reflections of an Oncologist in Saudi Arabia

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New Challenges in Communication with Cancer Patients

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Abstract

Cancer is a complicated illness, which for many decades and in many cultures has been perceived as an incurable and devastating disease. Patients who receive a diagnosis of cancer are in a position of extreme uncertainty and vulnerability. Breaking such bad news is not an easy task. Doctors face particular difficulties when breaking bad news to cancer patients especially at the time of disclosing or discussing the diagnosis. Sometimes doctors collude with the relatives of cancer patients to protect the patients from the bad news. Mutual trust and respect enable better management and implementation of the treatment plan. Since doctors expect patients to tell the truth, similarly, patients expect doctors to give truthful information about their illness. Therefore, the mutual relationship between cancer patients and doctors depends on the establishment of trust and honesty, which are strongly connected with truthful communication. Truth disclosure should be considered the first step toward a good doctor–patient relationship and the basis for any decision-making in treating cancer. Culture should not be a barrier to realistic, honest, good communication, which can reduce uncertainty and anxiety, improve compliance, and avoid false information. Uncertainty or doubts do not offer a better relationship. The patients’ attitude and view about truth-telling, confidentiality, and autonomy should take precedence and be respected over and above anybody else’s view. Choosing the right time and place and lending hope through successful therapy, pain relief, and emerging new drugs can lead to better outcomes. The aim of this chapter is to view the world as a single unit and all patients as one.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Makkah Street, 40182, Al-Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia

    Ali M. Al-Amri

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  1. Ali M. Al-Amri
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Correspondence to Ali M. Al-Amri .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Medicine, New York University Medical School, First Avenue 530, New York, 10016, USA

    Antonella Surbone

  2. Institute of Oncology, Zaloška 2, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia

    Matjaž Zwitter

  3. Institute of Oncology, Zaloška 2, Ljubljana, 1000, Ljubljana-Center, Slovenia

    Mirjana Rajer

  4. 38th Street 2838, Astoria, 11103, New York, USA

    Richard Stiefel

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Al-Amri, A.M. (2013). Ethical Issues in Disclosing Bad News to Cancer Patients: Reflections of an Oncologist in Saudi Arabia. In: Surbone, A., Zwitter, M., Rajer, M., Stiefel, R. (eds) New Challenges in Communication with Cancer Patients. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3369-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3369-9_4

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