Giving information for a life-threatening diagnosis. Parents' and oncologists' perceptions
L. W. Greenberg, L. S. Jewett, R. S. Gluck, L. A. Champion, S. L. Leikin, M. F. Altieri and R. N. Lipnick
We surveyed pediatric oncologists throughout the United States and families
of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia diagnosed between 1977 and 1980
at Children's Hospital National Medical Center, Washington, DC, to
determine what information is perceived by both parents and physicians as
essential to convey during the initial presentation of a life-threatening
diagnosis. Both groups considered the following topics critical for
discussion at the initial conference: diagnosis and prognosis of disease,
explanation of disease process, additional tests needed to confirm and/or
supplement the diagnosis, immediate therapeutic plan, and the physician's
availability. Additionally, both parents and physicians, with minor
variations, agreed about the order in which information about the disease
should be conveyed. Although acute lymphocytic leukemia was used as a
model, this study suggests guidelines that could be utilized to train
residents and guide physicians in crisis-counseling techniques in the
presentation to parents of a diagnosis of life-threatening illness in their
child.
