Influence of Patient’s Beliefs and Knowledge about Cancer, on Treatment Decision Making in Pakistan

More people die of cancer than from malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined together. The death toll from cancer is equally enormous in developing as well as developed countries (Kishore et al., 2008). Socioeconomic and socio-cultural differences are known to contribute to increasing incidence of cancer worldwide by affecting the approach to screening, diagnosis and management of cancers. This socio-cultural impact on outcomes in cancer is observed throughout the world (Kagawa-Singer, 2000; Lukwago et al., 2003; Paskett et al., 2004; Talcott et al., 2007; Kishore et al., 2008). Prevailing beliefs and attitudes have great impact on the practices of a society for the prevention and diagnoses of a disease, decisions regarding its treatment, and care at the end of life (Kagawa-Singer 2000). Diagnosis of cancer, is often a medical and social dilemma for the patients and their families, the word cancer has been a social stigma, and looked at and spoken with hesitation, therefore an open approach related to screening diagnosis and treatment discussions is not easy, specially when families of patients want to exclude patients from awareness about existence of disease itself. (Brokalaki et al., 2005; Chu et al., 2007; Kishore et al.,