Ethics and the oncologist

The physician who treats cancer patients is particularly exposed to ethical problems in his daily routine. These ethical dilemmas occur at almost every stage of the cancer patient's treatment from diagnosis through treatment to the final stages of his or her illness. Several of the ethical questions in the treatment of these patients are discussed, particularly the issues of disclosing the diagnosis of cancer to the patient, the place of mutilative surgery and other aggressive modalities in cancer treatment, and the ethics of randomized clinical trials. Awareness of these problems and open discussion will help the oncologist to treat his or her patient in the best possible way.