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For patients and their families undergoing cancer care, as well as for clinicians providing this care,
ethical issues may arise. An ethics issue involves any conflict or uncertainty involving patients¡¯ values and preferences, or clinicians¡¯ professional obligations in the clinical setting. An ethics issue may include situations in which:

• Patients have uncertainty about treatment decisions or goals of care.
• There is conflict, uncertainty, or disagreement about care plans occurring between:
  • Patients and their families
  • Patients (or families) and the healthcare team
  • Amongst surrogate decision-makers
  • Amongst the healthcare team
• Moral distress amongst clinicians and healthcare teams.
• Surrogates are making decisions on behalf of a patient.
• Concerns about withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatments. 
• The ethical appropriateness of requested treatments. 

The Center for Clinical Ethics in Cancer Care offers a 24/7 consultation service. MD Anderson¡¯s Clinical Ethics Consultation Service (CECS) can help resolve issues like those above. The CECS is staffed by trained and certified clinical ethicists (HEC-C).

The Clinical Ethics team collaborates with patients, families, caregivers, and clinicians. This team helps identify ethically justifiable choices, facilitate family meetings or care conferences, and provides recommendations. While the CECS does not make decisions on behalf of the patients, families, or clinicians, it does help resolve ethics issues in a structured manner.

Any patient, surrogate decision-maker, clinician or healthcare professional may request a clinical ethics consultation. All consultations are confidential.

Contact the Ethics Consultation Service

Clinical Ethicists are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please page 713-404-2863 or, if a clinician or healthcare professional, put an order or referral in EPIC for a clinical ethics consultation.