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Information and choice in decisions about cancer treatment
EDITOR, - We support L J Fallowfield and colleagues' conclusions that patients' "desire for autonomy may be less strong than the need for clear and accurate information" and that patients "have the right to decline the opportunity to participate in decision making."1 In a study of 165 patients treated for Hodgkin's disease within protocols of the British national lymphoma investigation, with a median interval from diagnosis of eight years, we examined patients' participation in decision making and the provision of information and choice. Of special interest was the impact on patients' views of the success or otherwise of treatment. Successful treatment was defined as complete response with no relapse, while unsuccessful treatment was defined as a failure of initial treatment to result in complete response or a relapse requiring further treatment.
Patients' answers to self administered questionnaires indicated that, although 102 patients thought that all decisions about treatment had been
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- Psychological effects of being offered choice of surgery for breast cancer
- L J Fallowfield, A Hall, P Maguire, M Baum, and R P A'Hern
BMJ 1994 309: 448.[Extract] [Full Text]
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