Publications by authors named "Jan Maarten W van Haarst"
Article Synopsis
- Up to one-third of advanced cancer patients have a different perception of their prognosis compared to their physicians, often showing more optimism about their likelihood of cure and survival.
- Many patients prefer not knowing their prognosis when there is discordance, with preferences varying based on the type of prognosis discussed (ranging from 7% to 45%).
- Physicians generally do not recognize this discordance, which highlights the importance of improving communication and awareness in end-of-life discussions to facilitate better decision-making and preparation for patients.
Background: For some patients with advanced cancer not knowing prognosis is essential. Yet, in an era of informed decision-making, the potential protective function of unawareness is easily overlooked. We aimed to investigate 1) the proportion of advanced cancer patients preferring not to know prognosis; 2) the reasons underlying patients' prognostic information preference; 3) the characteristics associated with patients' prognostic information preference; and 4) the concordance between physicians' perceived and patients' actual prognostic information preference.
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