Lowitz B B, Benjamin R S
West J Med. 1977 Jul;127(1):5-14.
Nononcologic medical problems are common in patients with cancer. Failure to evaluate and treat these problems leads to considerable morbidity and mortality in people who often have potential for both comfortable and productive lives. While a physician is sometimes powerless to prevent the progression of underlying cancer, he must not allow a diagnostic category to color his approach. By seeing only an end point which is inevitable for all people, one could be inclined not to treat what is treatable. With clinical judgment, information and the eternal question of diagnosticians, "What else could this be?", a physician can focus not on the inevitability of death but on the quality of life.
非肿瘤性医学问题在癌症患者中很常见。未能评估和治疗这些问题会导致这些本有可能过上舒适且有意义生活的人出现相当高的发病率和死亡率。虽然医生有时无力阻止潜在癌症的进展，但他绝不能让诊断类别影响其治疗方法。如果只看到所有人都不可避免的终点，就可能倾向于不治疗可治疗的疾病。凭借临床判断力、信息以及诊断医生永恒的问题“这还可能是什么？”，医生可以不把重点放在死亡的必然性上，而是放在生活质量上。
