The aim of this paper is to learn from the experience of relatives of patients with terminal cancer about the medical beneficence during a terminal illness. This paper is part of a broader study entitled "The care, attention and decision of patients with terminal cancer at the end of life: a vision from the experience of family". The experience of the family provides information about the act from the doctor about the risks and benefits of treatments or procedures. A qualitative study was carried out that part of the phenomenological hermeneutical paradigm. It is approached from the phenomenological stance because it lets you know the perception that people have of the world in which they live and the meaning they give you. 11 family members and primary caregivers, were interviewed. Thematic analysis and the method of van Manen were used. The experience of family shows that some doctors sometimes did not act from principle of beneficence because they did not provide detailed information, omitted or no communication, they did not respect their decisions and not controlled or eliminated the discomfort or pain of the patient. Physicians must recognize and address situations that fail to comply with this principle.
Keywords:
beneficence, cancer, phenomenology hermeneutics, thematic analysis, method of van Manen, experience of family
Ordóñez Vázquez, N. A., Becerra Sánchez, M., & Monroy Nasr, Z. (2018). Beneficence of the doctor in the treatment of patients with terminal cancer from the experience of family. Acta Bioethica, 24(1), 57–65. Retrieved from https://actabioethica.uchile.cl/index.php/AB/article/view/49377
