Document Type : Middle East Special Report
Authors
1 Surgical Unit, Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
2 Member of National Bioethics Committee, Government of Pakistan
Abstract
Objective: To ascertain cancer patients' views regarding disclosure of diagnosis in the Pakistani population, anxiety levels after disclosure of the diagnosis, interest in knowing all the treatment options and desire to inform their families.Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 147 cancer patients from different hospitals in Pakistan were asked questions to determine their opinions regarding whether the diagnosis of cancer should be disclosed to patients and their relatives or not. Anxiety after diagnosis disclosure and who should disclose this information were also asked. Patients were also asked about their views regarding whether their families should be informed about the cancer diagnosis without patient's prior consent.Results:Atotal of 147 cancer patients completed the questionnaire. Of these, 112 (76.2%) wanted to know about their cancer diagnosis while only 28 (19.0%) patients refused. Anxiety levels were increased in 59 (40.1%) patients, remained the same in 61 (41.5%) and decreased in 27 (18.4%). One hundred and twenty three patients (83.7%), wanted to know the diagnosis from their physicians. Eighty-four (57.1%) patients were interested in all treatment options, while 102 (69.4%) patients wanted to be actively involved in decision making about their treatment. Only 37 (25.2%) patients answered affirmatively to the question which asked if their families were informed about the patient's disease without patient's prior knowledge, while 82 (55.8%) disagreed.Conclusion: The majority of cancer patients wanted disclosure of their disease by their doctor. The results of this study provide important implications for Pakistani doctors concerning the practice of diagnostic cancer disclosure to the patients.
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