Influence of Truth Disclosure on Quality of Life in Cancer Patients

Abstract

"Truth disclosure to cancer patients has been an ethical and controversial issue in the medical profession, as some physicians are of the opinion that disclosure of truth to the patients having cancer may harm the psychological state of the patient, while others say that one must subject the patient to psychological counselling prior to truth disclosure. A survey in India revealed that physicians initially withheld the truth and then disclosed it to the nearest relative of the patient. Therefore the present study was undertaken to reach a point of view where the dilemmas and contradictions nullify and yield an acceptable conclusion. Functional Living Index _€ Cancer (FLI-C) questionnaire was used to study the influence of truth disclosure in India. The results suggested that truth disclosure did not affect emotional factors significantly, where as truth concealed patients were more physically sound, able and sociable than truth disclosed ones. Therefore, the analysis of data suggests that more supportive care is necessary for cancer patients, both psychologically and physically, in particular those with incurable cancer. Further, the physician patient relationship needs to be more ethical and convincing to encourage truth disclosure in India."