Ethical Issues in Cancer Patient Care

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Physicians and Cancer Patients: Communication and Advance Directives

   • Peter Angelos

   Pages 1-11

3. Information is not Enough: The Place of Statistics in the Doctor-Patient Relationship

   • Kathryn Montgomery

   Pages 13-21

4. Cross-Cultural Issues in Caring for Patients with Cancer

   • Tod Chambers

   Pages 23-37

5. Religious/Spiritual Concerns in Caring For the Cancer Patient

   • James F. Bresnahan, John M. Merrill

   Pages 39-47

6. Are there Limits to Oncology Care? (Futility)

   • Gary R. Shapiro

   Pages 49-63

7. Role of Palliative Medicine in Cancer Patient Care

   • Charles F. von Gunten, Jeanne Martinez

   Pages 65-76

8. Informed Consent, The Cancer Patient, And Phase I Clinical Trials

   • Christopher K. Daugherty

   Pages 77-89

9. The Ethical Lessons of Managed Care Applied to Clinical Trials

   • Samuel Hellman

   Pages 91-98

10. Kids and Cancer: Ethical Issues in Treating the Pediatric Oncology Patient

    • Sarah E. Friebert, Eric D. Kodish

    Pages 99-135

11. Does Reimbursement Affect Physician Decision Making?

    • Charles L. Bennett, Tammy J. Stinson

    Pages 137-149

12. Back Matter

    Pages 151-152

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This book addresses a variety of ethical issues that arise in the care of oncology patients. Many volumes have been written on medical ethics in the past 30 years. However, few have focused on ethical issues specific to the care of cancer patients. This book brings together such a focused examination. The contributors are experienced clinicians, ethicists, medical humanists, and medical educators. The issues raised have direct relevance to the care of oncology patients in treatment as well as research settings. The chapters address issues that are central to contemporary medical practice and medical ethics inquiry. Any practicing clinician will be well aware of the problems of communication and how uncertainty, cross-cultural issues, and religious influences can impact patient care. The limits of care and the role of advance directives and palliative care are common issues that must be addressed in treating patients at the end of life. For oncologists and oncology patients, participation in clinical trials may be a thomy topic, especially when phase I clinical trials are being considered. The impact of managed care and reimbursement issues cannot be avoided in the contemporary patient care and similarly cannot be neglected when considering the ethical ramifications raised. No discussion of ethics in oncology can be complete without attention to the specific challenges raised by the pediatric patient with cancer. All of these topics are explored by the contributors to this book.

• Ethical Issues
• Medical Ethics
• clinical trial
• ethics
• pain
• palliative medicine

From the reviews of the second edition:

"The contributors to this book deal with a variety of ethical issues related to the care of cancer patients in an accessible, nontechnical manner. … The authors’ varied backgrounds make the book, which is intended for physicians, nurses, students, educators and ethicists, accessible to a wide range of readers. ... the inclusion of a cancer survivor as a contributor makes the book of interest to cancer sufferers and other patients who want to understand the perspectives of their caregivers." (Becket Gremmels, Doody’s Review Service, February 2008)

• Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, USA

  Peter Angelos

Policies and ethics