%0 Journal Article
%T ¡°I would prefer not to¡±: Assessing competence to consent in a case of refusal of cancer treatment
%A Daniel M de Barros
%A Gustavo B Castellana
%A Lilia B Schraiber
%A Talita R de Oliveira
%J Clinical Ethics
%@ 1758-101X
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1477750919836648
%X Based on an actual case in which a psychiatrist was called in to assess a patient¡¯s capacity to refuse treatment, the aim of this study is to discuss how to manage this ethical and clinical issue and the dilemmas faced by the medical team. Case presentation: The case involved a 45-year-old female patient diagnosed with breast cancer who refused treatment. Since the mastology team had doubts about the patient¡¯s mental state and given that she refused to consent to surgery, a forensic psychiatric consult was requested. The forensic psychiatry team concluded that the patient¡¯s decision-making capacity was preserved. The team suggested some actions to help the specialists deal with the ethical conflict. A reflection is proposed about the role of psychiatrists when an ethical dilemma involving decision-making capacity emerges in clinical situations, elucidating their work not only as physicians who determine diagnoses and conducts, but also as agents of transformation in the doctor¨Cpatient relationship
%K Autonomy
%K cancer
%K decision-making capacity
%K forensic psychiatry
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1477750919836648