CONSIDERING ADVANCE DIRECTIVES FOR ONCOLOGY PATIENTS

Communication is an important cornerstone to the physician-patient rel ationship when considering advance directives. Discussing advance dire ctives with patients is a process best initiated in routine, well-adul t care that can be made more daunting when the patient is critically i ll; pet, when patients are afflicted with cancer, communication on adv ance directives can be optimized when the primary care physician and o ncologist together work with the patient. The need to counsel patients on advance directives regardless of the venue (whether inpatient or o utpatient) highlights that an ongoing alliance between the oncologist and the primary care physician can help facilitate consent to, and all ow periodic review of, advance directives by cancer patients. This pro cess ensures that the patient's preferences are respected at life's en d.