Disclosure of information to adult cancer patients: issues and update

Clinicians are regularly faced with decisions regarding disclosure of information to cancer patients. Many of these decisions constitute a dilemma between the physician's paternalistic concern for the patient and the patient's right to know as much as possible. This paper reviews changes in the attitudes of physicians over the last several decades, elaborates on the problems that confront the clinician in the process of disclosure, and reviews the available data concerning the documented impact on the patient from receiving or not receiving information. The arguments both supporting and challenging the paternalistic view are discussed, and the necessity for viewing the disclosure of clinical information as a clinical process is offered.