The Fallacy of the Consultation and Informed Consent Process in Radiation Oncology Through the Lens of Prostate Cancer

Treatment decision making in prostate cancer (PCa) is complicated by the multitude of options and the extensive controversies surrounding the relative merits and limitations of each. This complexity creates a need for a balanced consultation and informed consent process, and provides a lens through which to assess the process's effectiveness. During consultation visits, physicians are believed (or better said, hoped) to provide patients with the best available objective evidence for their particular medical condition and the expected outcomes with various treatments, after which patients reach a decision and provide informed consent that is educated, voluntary, and made with decisional capacity.
Source: International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research