A 56-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of weight loss, lethargy, cough, and right costal margin pain. The patient disclosed that he smoked one pack of cigarettes per day for 40 years . The patient was diagnosed with non–small-cell lung cancer with synchronous hepatic metastases and was referred to an oncologist.
Doctor’s Refusal To Treat The oncologist explained all possible treatment complications resulting from long-term tobacco use. However, he also expressed a strong reluctance to treat the patient if he continues to smoke. Is it ethical to refuse treatment simply because doctors disagree with their patients’ decisions or lifestyles?
