Is it insane to refuse chemotherapy? The refusal of treatment: a price to pay for the autonomy of Western patients, or an issue of doctor-patient communication?.
Fiche publication
Date publication
janvier 2013
Auteurs
Membres identifiés du Cancéropôle Est :
Pr BACQUE Marie-Frédérique
Tous les auteurs :
Edery L, Bacque MF
Lien Pubmed
Résumé
The international literature rarely concerns itself with the refusal of treatment. We have studied the adaptation and subconscious defence mechanisms triggered in patients at the time of proposing adjuvant chemotherapy after cancer surgery. This longitudinal clinical study based on 50 breast cancer patients compares the psychological factors involved in the making of decisions following oncological consultation. Eighty-two percent of patients accepted chemotherapy while 18% refused it. The Accepting group usually exhibits depression in its reaction whereas the Refusing group generally has more hostile traits. Anxiety, significantly higher in the Accepting group than in the Refusing group, seems to be linked to feelings that are repressed by the patient that submits to the medical advice. Conversely, patients refusing the treatment tend to exhibit their hostility towards doctors and medicine verbally. Changes in doctor- patient communication, coupled with a greater knowledge of the personality of patients, may help encourage patients to accept the treatment offered to them.
Référence
Oncologie. 2013 Jan;15(1):20-30.