Postgraduate medical journal
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Patients with cancer need adequate information about diagnosis, treatment options, and possible outcomes and prognosis to make therapeutic decisions. In cultures where the family plays the dominant role in healthcare decisions, doctors are often requested to collude in withholding distressing information from the patient. This challenging situation has not been well studied and there is limited knowledge on the different factors that may contribute to collusion. ⋯ Collusion regarding diagnosis or prognosis is common among cancer patients referred for palliative care. It was more prevalent among female patients, manual workers, patients who had not received oncological treatment, and patients not accompanied by a spouse.