How should doctors communicate the diagnosis of cancer to patients?

The majority of doctors in North America, Australia and much of Europe now inform patients about a cancer diagnosis. However, many doctors report that they have difficulty disclosing a cancer diagnosis. Poor doctor-patient co mmunication skills may lead to psychological distress including increased a nxiety and depression and poorer psychological adjustment to cancer. Presen ting 'bad' news in an unhurried, honest, balanced and empathic fashion has been shown to produce greater satisfaction with communication of the news. Consensus guidelines have been developed to assist doctors to disclose a ca ncer diagnosis. Important aspects include exploring the patient's expectati ons, warning him/her that the news is bad, giving the news at the patient's own pace, allowing rime for the patient to react and eliciting the patient 's concerns. Doctor-patient communication can be improved by Including trai ning courses in communication skills for medical students and clinicians an d providing audiotapes of bad news consultations to enhance patient recall of information and increase patient satisfaction with communication, Additi onal research is needed to investigate effects of strategies to implement g uidelines for delivering a cancer diagnosis.