Do doctors tell the patient the full story? If someone had cancer and it had spread and become secondary (bowel primary, liver secondary), what would the Doctors say?
On doing my own research i have discovered how unfavourable this is, however my relative has not said anything about what the doctors have said to him.
What i am wondering is, whether the Doctors have told him that his chances may not be great, or would they not tell unless you asked? Sorry i hope this question makes sense.
2006-09-09 04:17:52 · 15 answers · asked by BRICK 3 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
Doctors' ethics require them to be honest with their patients about their illness and prognosis. It may be that your relative does not want to share this and painful as it may seem, I think you have to respect that.
2006-09-09 04:28:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of this depends on the individual Dr. Rightly or wrongly, some Dr's believe that not telling the patient the full story, in some way protects that patient.
You could, of course, argue that not telling the patient protects the Dr from dealing with a difficult situation.
Some of my colleagues believe that it is preferable to tell the patient's family and let them decide. Again, this can be difficult, relations within the family may not be ideal and the family may withold the information to protect the patient (in their eyes)
I personally believe that the patient has the ultimate right to decide whether or not they want to hear bad or distressing news and I try to ascertain their viewpoint prior to performing investigations or doing an examination.
Your relative may have been given bad news, he may feel that he is protecting his loved ones by not sharing the news.
There are so many unknown quantities here, you are obviously very caring.
Let your relative know that you are there if he needs you.
I wish you all the best.
2006-09-09 05:57:56 · answer #2 · answered by meynell35 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on the doctor. I worked for a large hospital in the Medical Staff Office. I learned a great deal about doctors while I was there. Doctors are just people. All people including doctors are different. Some are good... some are bad. Some use discretion while others tell the whole truth. If you would like to know more about the doctor in question call the Medical Staff Office of the hospital where he has privileges and inquire about his record as a physician. They will be able to tell you of any lawsuits or complaints. Good luck to you and your family and God bless!
2006-09-09 04:55:43 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We tell our patients everything - good, bad, and the "I'm not sure what this means." It is not always easy for the patient to hear and sometimes they need to hear it a few times before they completely understand. For example, I have a spouse of a patient who is on Hospice who I'm not sure completely "gets it" despite both myself and the physician I work with telling him point blank that there are no other treatments available that she has not failed (we did offer sending for possible clinical trials, but they declined) and the cancer would continue to progress.
In you relative's case, his chances may not be great, but he might still have a chance. If he is going to undergo treatment of some sort, my thoughts are that they will restage him after some of the treatments to see if they are working. If they are working they will continue. They could prolong his life considerably and give him a good quality of life. Only when the treatments stop working will they discuss that they can't do anything more for him and might consider Hospice. Also, we have multiple chemotherapy drugs out there to use and new ones are approved everyday. If one treatment doesn't work, they may switch to another.
2006-09-10 02:08:50 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the truth can sometimes be as harmful as the diagnosis---
if a patient has been diagnosed with a life threatening 'illness', the doctor Must use his/her discretion about what to tell that patient.
it could cause psychological damage to that patient resulting in self harm or even suicide.
any patient can apply in writting to see their own medical notes, to check on what the doctors have told them - but to do it properly (and above all) legally does take a few months.
the reason that there are rumours of doctors telling lies to patients - is the simple fact that it could be worse for that patient hearing the full truth.
appart from that, doctors (especially ones who work in hospitals) are quite nice people, especially the ones who know that they are not gods.
2006-09-09 04:34:10 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
they are as honest as possible. that's the one thing a good doctor have, specially oncologists, is their ability to tell the patient the truth, no matter how brutal it is. This is the hardest part....to tell the patient and his family..that this is it...radiation treatment and chemotherapy is not working anymore....
Doctors will always explain to their patients what will be the course of action once the diagnosis is made....or if the cancer starts to metastasize. .....
all questions make sense....esp to the asker
2006-09-09 17:46:31 · answer #6 · answered by ♦cat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sweetie your question is vague. Your true answer really depends on whether or not the doctor your relative uses has been honest. No way any of us could know that. I can readily see the concern you have prompting you to do the research. Nothing wrong with asking your relative how his recovery is coming so as to determine what he does or does not know. These are stressful times for your family. God Bless!
2006-09-09 04:28:46 · answer #7 · answered by Mr. Bernstein 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is difficult. It depends on the patient. If a Doctor feels it would be advisable to tell someone they will.
2006-09-09 04:27:04 · answer #8 · answered by deadly 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Doctors tell you what they know...period. That is what the tests have actually shown to be positive. Rarely, will they tell you that you are terminal until they have exhausted all forms of treatment. Generally, they tell you what you have and the treatment options available. Then they refer you to specialists in that area. The specialist usually recommends surgery. The surgeon does the operation then refers you to a radiologist oncologist. Then he makes a report to your medical oncologist who tells you how the treatment is progressing. It is actually pretty businesslike and is nothing like the movies.
2006-09-09 12:59:33 · answer #9 · answered by jodie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Difficult to generalise,but some doctors say what they think the patient should know.Some are brutally frank.To say about prognosis is difficult and it should be told depending on the mental strenght of the patient.
2006-09-09 04:29:09 · answer #10 · answered by Bipin mishra 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Doctor will never tell the dangoruos desise to patient. It will lose the pecence of Doctors.
2006-09-09 04:22:43 · answer #11 · answered by Arun M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋