I was devastated when my young cancer patient refused treatment – I only found out why she thought it was unnecessary after she died

• Dr Ranana Srivastava tried her best to convince the mother to have treatment 
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A doctor has spoken of her devastation after learning why her cancer patient refused life-saving treatment after she died.

Dr Ranana Srivastava, from Australia, explained how her patient was married with children when she learned her cancer had returned.

Writing for The Guardian, the oncologist recalled how the patient said that the devastating diagnosis ‘wasn’t possible’.

Describing how it is fairly common for patients to experience shock and denial, Dr Srivastava said she waited for the patient – who was in her 40s – to then ask about a treatment plan.

Instead, the woman had the opposite reaction and walked straight out of the office.

Dr Ranana Srivastava, from Australia, explained how her patient was married with children when she learned her cancer had returned. Stock photo

Over the next few months, Dr Srivastava says the appointments were ‘trying’ for her and the patient – who responded with ‘more surprise than dismay and curiosity than urgency’. 

Although Dr Srivastava was confident that her patient’s unspecified cancer is very treatable, the woman decided ultimately not to go forward with it.

After announcing that she doesn’t want to have Chemotherapy again, the woman explained that it is her ‘greatest wish to be around for her children’ and support her husband and family. 

The oncologist wrote: ‘Listening to her, I find her goal poignant, admirable and given the biology of her cancer, unattainable without treatment.’

Despite always being told to respect the patient’s right to deny treatment, the oncologist told the mother she was struggling to understand why she would refuse Chemo when she wanted to be around for her children.

At this point, the mother burst into tears and confessed that the appointments only made her feel ‘more distressed’.

In the ensuing months, the patient avoided calls and texts from the clinic – until she comes in as an emergency case.

As the cancer progressed, the woman returned to the clinic only in the case of emergencies before she sadly passed away.

Pictured: Dr Ranjana Srivastava. Dr Srivastava says the appointments were ‘trying’ for her and the patient – who responded with ‘more surprise than dismay and curiosity than urgency’.

As Dr Srivastava grappled with her guilt over the case, she decided to call the woman’s husband to express her remorse a few months later.

During the phone call, he revealed the heartbreaking reason why his partner refused to go through with treatment the second time.

He said: ‘She believed that her previous suffering would be rewarded by a lifetime cure.’

The man then said she had an ‘unshakeable belief’ that she had fought the cancer the first time and it did not make sense that it could have come back.

The oncologist said: ‘Her will to shield her family was so strong it overtook her fears about herself. The longer she deferred treatment, the more she was convinced it was unnecessary.’ 

Although the woman’s husband told her she had no reason to feel guilty, Dr Srivastava admitted that she feared her patient never returned because she ‘feared judgement’. 

In 2014, Dr Srivastava revealed her guide for ultimate coping with cancer – including support for patients and family and friends.

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