Holding Curative and Palliative Intentions

When a patient is diagnosed with an advanced head and neck cancer, a decision about whether to have surgery can dominate what remains of that patient's life: prospective benefits can be limited, and complication risks can be high. Realizing dual curative and palliative intention with a single operation can be a reasonable surgical oncological care goal. In such cases, differentiating between the curative and palliative potential of surgery is key to developing dual intentional clarity. Informed consent should be generated by clear communication exchanges about patients' and surgeons' hopes and expectations, patients' and surgeons' risk tolerance, and the risk that surgeons or patients could experience regret.