If a Patient's Cancer Is So Advanced, Who Decides Whether to Provide Palliative Care or Aggressively Treat It?

Abstract

![Graphic][1] ![Graphic][2] Aron Rose, MD, is an ophthalmologist specializing in cataract and glaucoma surgery. He has treated patients and been invited to teach worldwide, including in China, Uzbekistan, India, Mongolia, Bhutan, Indonesia, Ghana, Myanmar, Gambia, and Liberia, and is an expert on blindness prevention and treatment in the developing world. The previous director of residency training and an associate clinical professor at the Yale University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, Dr. Rose also lectures regularly at the Yale Multidisciplinary Center for Bioethics. ![Graphic][3] He also chairs the Bioethics Steering Committee of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP)‐led Partners for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Africa, a Clinton Global Initiative: Commitment to Action that provides patients in underserved areas of Sub‐Saharan Africa access to rapid cancer diagnostics and appropriate care and treatment. Annually, approximately 650,000 people develop cancer and about 510,000 cancer deaths occur in Africa due to limited treatment and resources. More than one‐third of cancer deaths in Africa are from cancers that are easily preventable and/or treatable, if detected early. This initiative brings together organizations with the expertise necessary to diagnose cancer earlier and provide appropriate treatment, as well as establish a sustainable laboratory infrastructure to address these issues in the future. By leveraging leapfrog technology, and the skills and experience of ASCP members, clinicians in Sub‐Saharan Africa can have access to … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [2]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [3]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif