Ups and downs in physician - cancer patient relationship

Over the past years, there has been an increasing interest in involving the cancer patients in the decision making regarding the therapy management due to several factors. The most important aspect to be taken into consideration is the principle of patient autonomy. More and more patients have become interested in making informed decisions regarding their therapy options and physicians need to be able to provide data on the aspect. Some patient-physician models have been proposed and used for 40 years now. Still, the debate is very important for most of the physicians due to the shifts in the approach.

To really express the concerns that the authors address, the case of a head and neck cancer patient and the possible dialogues with the physician were presented. Each type of communication model with the patient is very important because nowadays, intrications between the four are likely to occur. There are legal aspects that need to be taken into consideration such as the informed consent, the ethical and moral aspects.

The possibility of individualized oncological therapy for the cancer patient leads to different decisions for both the patient and the physician. The decision making process involves the patient at different levels. Legal implications tend to affect the healthiness of the dialogue between the physician and the cancer patient and might be a key-point in the further development of the ethical aspects.