Abstract
Advance Care Planning is an important factor to determine the quality of life for patients with advanced cancer. The primary aim of this preliminary study is to explore the preference of patients with advanced cancer for Advance Care Planning. We conducted the semi−structured interviews with 10 palliative care patients. A total of 9 patients of them stated that Advance Care Planning is valuable, but 1 patient evaluated it as not valuable. Participants had diverse views regarding the appropriate timing of Advance Care Planning (i.e., during anticancer treatment, at the recurrence, hospitalization, when the physician decided to need). The majority of participants preferred their primarily responsible physician to initiate the discussion. Participants had various opinions about a role of family members and a necessity of written documentation. The findings of this study suggested that physicians should confirm the patient’s intention about Advance Care Planning, judge the appropriate timing of discussion, and ask who should be present during the discussion. Larger study is needed.
