Cancer patients and their doctors often hold different opinions about the patient’s chances for survival and how long he or she might live, according to a new study. And, in many cases, patients are unaware there’s any misunderstanding. “First, some patients might know the doctor’s prognosis estimate but the patient chooses to disagree, often because they believe other sources. And second, some patients think that their doctor agrees with their opinion about prognosis but, in fact, the doctor doesn’t,” said study co-author Dr. Ronald Epstein. He is a professor of family medicine, psychiatry and oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.For the study, researchers asked 236 patients with advanced cancer about their prognosis. The 38 doctors who treated them independently said they would “not have been surprised” if their patients died within a year.
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