Present Conditions and Problems of Notification of Cancer to the Patients with Digestive Cancer

Nobuhiko Ueda, Teisuke Hirono

Department of Surgery, Toyama City Hospital

Ninety-four of this author's patients with digestive cancer during the past 2 years and 10 months were analyzed to clarify the present conditions and problems of notification of cancer based on questionnaires. Notification of cancer was performed by mutual consent of the families. Sixty-three of the patients were notified of cancer. The rate of notification of cancer was 88% in curability A group, 38% in B and 47% in C. Most of the patients and families were satisfied with notification. All of notified patients in curability B or C were performed adjuvant therapy or reoperation smoothly, but a few of unnotified patients were difficult to treat. Ninety-four percent of 54 alive notified patients desired to be notified of cancer, but only 41% desired to be given exact prognosis. Six percent of notified patients did not desire to be notified and 39% of unnotified patients desired to be notified really. These results suggest that the notification of cancer is effective to psychology or treatment of the patients, but in case of notification of cancer, confirmation of the desire of patients for notification in advance and an offer of information in line with the desire are necessary. But it is the future problem to offer all information to the patients with poor prognosis to their wish or not.

Key words
digestive cancer, notification of cancer, informed consent, paternalism, questionnaire

Reprint requests
Nobuhiko Ueda Department of Surgery, Toyama City Hospital
292 Imaizumi. Toyama, 939 JAPAN

Accepted
January 8, 1997

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