Truth Telling to Terminally Ill Patients: To Tell or not to Tell

Abstract

Merry was a 40-year-old mother of two with a history of tumor and hospital visits; however, her last doctor’s visit in October left her and her family with shattering news. Doctors diagnosed Merry with metastatic inoperable tumor. Since Merry last visit, her conditions worsened due to malignancy and she became a victim of nausea, vomiting, intestinal obstruction and slothfulness. When Merry came to know of her medical conditions, she became stubborn and denied treatments the hospital offered her: exploratory laparotomy, insertion of a urinary catheter, and insertion of nasogastric tube.