Annals of Oncology 12:365-371, 2001
© 2001 European Society for Medical Oncology
research-article |
Hearing the bad news of a cancer diagnosis: The Australian melanoma patient's perspective*
1Medical Psychology Unit, Department of Cancer Medicine
2Department of Psychology, University of Sydney
3Sydney Melanoma Unit Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Department of Surgery, University of Sydney
4Department of Cancer Medicine, University of Sydney
5Department of Psychological Medicine, Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney, Australia
Correspondence to:P. E. Schofield, PhD, NH&MRC Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Locked Bag 1, A'Beckett Street, Victoria, Australia, 8006, E-mail: SchofieldPenelope{at}petermac.unimelb.edu.au
Background: In the past, recommendations on how to break the bad news of a cancer diagnosis have been based on expert opinion. Recently, consensus-based guidelines for medical practitioners have been developed. The objective of this work is to investigate patient preferences for communication practices and to identify any disparities between these guidelines, patient preferences and patient recollections of hearing their diagnosis.
Patients and methods: A consecutive sample of 131 newly diagnosed melanoma patients were surveyed approximately 4 months after initial diagnosis to document their preferences and recollections of their communication experiences.
Results: Of the ’breaking bad news‘ recommendations investigated, patients did not strongly endorse the doctor helping tell others of the diagnosis or telling the patient about cancer support services. Very few patients expressed a preference for having another health professional present. One communication feature, the patient feeling confident about getting the best treatment, was endorsed as ’very important‘ but does not feature in published guidelines. The most notable disparities between guidelines and the reported experiences of patients related to perceived delays in receiving the diagnosis, and having adequate opportunity to ask their clinician questions.
Conclusion: Current Australian recommendations on how to communicate a diagnosis of cancer were generally supported by the patients’ expressed preferences, but several modifications are proposed.
Implications: Suggestions are offered to help overcome the disparities identified between recommendations and patients' preferences when a diagnosis of cancer is being communicated.
breaking bad news, communication, diagnosis, melanoma, patient preferences, truth telling
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Thorne, E.-A. Armstrong, S. R. Harris, T. G. Hislop, C. Kim-Sing, V. Oglov, J. L. Oliffe, and K. I. Stajduhar Patient Real-Time and 12-Month Retrospective Perceptions of Difficult Communications in the Cancer Diagnostic Period Qual Health Res, October 1, 2009; 19(10): 1383 - 1394. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Fujimori and Y. Uchitomi Preferences of Cancer Patients Regarding Communication of Bad News: A Systematic Literature Review Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol., April 1, 2009; 39(4): 201 - 216. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Schofield, M. Carey, A. Love, C. Nehill, and S. Wein 'Would you like to talk about your future treatment options?' discussing the transition from curative cancer treatment to palliative care Palliative Medicine, June 1, 2006; 20(4): 397 - 406. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. C Randall and A. M Wearn Receiving bad news: patients with haematological cancer reflect upon their experience Palliative Medicine, December 1, 2005; 19(8): 594 - 601. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. G. Hagerty, P. N. Butow, P. M. Ellis, S. Dimitry, and M. H. N. Tattersall Communicating prognosis in cancer care: a systematic review of the literature Ann. Onc., July 1, 2005; 16(7): 1005 - 1053. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. G. Hagerty, P. N. Butow, P. M. Ellis, E. A. Lobb, S. C. Pendlebury, N. Leighl, C. Mac Leod, and M. H.N. Tattersall Communicating With Realism and Hope: Incurable Cancer Patients' Views on the Disclosure of Prognosis J. Clin. Oncol., February 20, 2005; 23(6): 1278 - 1288. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Morita, T. Akechi, M. Ikenaga, Y. Kizawa, H. Kohara, T. Mukaiyama, T. Nakaho, N. Nakashima, Y. Shima, T. Matsubara, et al. Communication about the ending of anticancer treatment and transition to palliative care Ann. Onc., October 1, 2004; 15(10): 1551 - 1557. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. B. Wright, C. Holcombe, and P. Salmon Doctors' communication of trust, care, and respect in breast cancer: qualitative study BMJ, April 10, 2004; 328(7444): 864. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. E. Schofield, P. N. Butow, J. F. Thompson, M. H. N. Tattersall, L. J. Beeney, and S. M. Dunn Psychological responses of patients receiving a diagnosis of cancer Ann. Onc., January 1, 2003; 14(1): 48 - 56. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Iconomou, A. Viha, A. Koutras, A. G Vagenakis, and H. P Kalofonos Information needs and awareness of diagnosis in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy: a report from Greece Palliative Medicine, June 1, 2002; 16(4): 315 - 321. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|