Doctors Once Hid Cancer Diagnoses

In 1961, a survey of physicians found that 90% of doctors said they would not tell a patient if they had cancer. Many medical professionals at the time thought the diagnosis would undermine the patient's will to live or cause needless despair. Over the next two decades, medical ethics shifted toward transparency and patient autonomy. By 1977, another survey found that 97% of doctors said they would disclose the diagnosis to their patients.

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