DECODING INFORMED CONSENT - INSIGHTS FROM WOMEN REGARDING BREAST-CANCER SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING

Cancer susceptibility testing is likely to become routine in medical p ractice, despite many limitations and unanswered questions. These unce rtainties greatly complicate the process of informed consent, creating an excellent opportunity to reconsider exactly how it should be condu cted. Research with women's reactions to the availability of genetic s usceptibility testing for breast cancer dramatically underscores that informed consent ought to be highly individualized, taking care to dis cern what patients believe about the disease and its causes and what r ole they want their physician to play.