[To inform a cancer patient of the truth]

Many uncertainties and fuzzinesses exist in the medicine itself and cultural differences greatly influence on the medical practice. The word "cancer" is still often considered to be synonymous with the word "death" and despite encouraging recent medical advances this dark image will most likely continue into the next century. Today the world is becoming increasingly estimated in terms of technical and economic effectiveness and the same holds true in the field of medicine. Such valuation will be-evaluated in the coming century for human beings. This paper will discuss the cultural and social significance of informing a cancer patient of truth as well as a patient's informed consent and living will. Such changes in the medical culture of Japan should be regarded positively since they should help to improve the overall trust between patients and doctors in the future.