The ethics of communication in cancer and palliative care

There are two approaches to cancer communication and ethics. First, ethics in cancer communication can refer to the ethical implications of cancer communication. Second, it can refer to the ethics of cancer communication research, which entails the obligations of researchers working in this field of research. Cancer communication research is especially salient as cancer patients and practitioners have been one of the major laboratories for research in, and application of, bioethical theory. The majority of this chapter discusses the importance and role of cancer communication research on current knowledge and understanding of bioethics and lastly the special ethical obligations of communication researchers. It presents an overview of ethical theories such as principlism, casuistry, virtue ethics, and the doctrine of informed consent. It also considers the link between communication and consent as well as the intersection of cancer communication, decision-making, and consent. Finally, it examines other ethically challenging communication predicaments, the use of persuasion in obtaining informed consent, and shared decision-making.