Difficult Decisions in Cancer Care — Conducting an Ethics Case Analysis

Abstract

In everyday oncology practice, practitioners make a wide range of ethical decisions. Many of these decisions will seem straightforward, with those involved agreeing on the right course of action. Other decisions will be difficult, with conflicting perspectives regarding the wishes, needs and best interests of patients. This article suggests an ethical framework to facilitate the decision-making of practitioners in relation to challenging practice situations. We provide an anonymised ‘ethics case’ to examine one difficult decision made by a hospice team. The four-quadrant approach can be used to facilitate reflection and collaborative decision-making.