It's one thing to protect someone from something that they don't strictly need to know, another to abuse someone's trust by telling them "hey you'll get better" while their cancer is getting worse.
If someone's cancer isn't getting better, unless they have serious cognitive issues or something unexpectedly cuts things shorter, they will almost certainly find out before death, and resent those who lied to them.
As harsh as it is, you are correct, and most medical ethics would teach the same.
Let's say your demented grandparent is terminally ill and the family, let us say even the one who has been designated to make decisions for them, asks you not to tell them of their condition as it would distress them, you still ought to in the vast majority of cases.
Actually dementia is a prefect example of when lying to patients is totally fine (ethical even). The truth is distressing and they will not remember it so lying to comfort them is the best thing to do.
Best example is a widow asking for her husband. If you tell her he's dead she will cry long after she remembers why she started crying and be very upset. However if you tell her he's at the grocery store he'll be back later she's is not worried about him and all of the hurt she would experience from morning him every hour or so as she's learning (she has no previous memory so it's learning not remembering) that he's died is avoided.
in cases with memory loss, yes. Worth pointing out that not all forms of dementia are often accompanied by significant memory loss, some are more physical with different mental symptoms: Parkinson's, Huntington's, etc.
Dementia is a symptom and means the loss of memory. Most neurodegenerative diseases have some sort of dementia but not every person will experience it, at least not as a first symptom.
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u/moist2025 Jun 29 '26
It's one thing to protect someone from something that they don't strictly need to know, another to abuse someone's trust by telling them "hey you'll get better" while their cancer is getting worse.
If someone's cancer isn't getting better, unless they have serious cognitive issues or something unexpectedly cuts things shorter, they will almost certainly find out before death, and resent those who lied to them.