Willingness to Bear Adversity and Beliefs About the Curability of Advanced Cancer in Older Adults
Telling patients that their cancer is incurable is difficult; many patients refuse to accept this, which makes them vulnerable to inappropriate therapy.
Reluctance to accept reality seems related to a patient’s beliefs and values, which override scientific data.
500 patients aged 70-96 years, previously informed that they had incurable cancer, were surveyed. 5% thought there was a 100% chance that their cancer would be cured and nearly a quarter of patients estimated their chances of cure as 50% or greater.
Many medical interventions are potentially harmful, but patients seem willing to bear these consequences because they think it will be curative. To help older patients with advanced cancer understand the truth, their preferences, values, emotions, and fears need to be understood.
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