What should doctors say,for example,to a 46-year-old man coming in for a routine physical checkup just before going on vacation with his family who,though he feels in perfect health,is found to have a form of cancer that will cause him to die within six months?Is it best to tell him the truth?If he asks,should doctors reject that he is ill,or minimize the gravity of the illness? Should they at least hide the truth until after the family vacation?
Doctors face such choices often.At times,they see important reasons to lie for the patients' own sake.Should doctors ever lie to benefit their patients---to speed recovery or to cover the coming of death?
Studies show that most doctors sincerely believe that the seriously ill patients do not want to know the truth about their condition,and that informing them of risks destroys their hope,so that they may recover more slowly,or deteriorate（恶化）faster,perhaps even commit suicide.
But other studies show that,contrary to the belief of many physicians,a great majority of patients do want to be told the truth,even about serious illness,and feel cheated when they learn that they have been misled.We are also learning that truthful information,humanely conveyed,helps patients cope with illness: help them tolerate pain better, need less medicine,and even recover faster after surgery.
Not only in medicine,but in other professions such as law and government as well,practitioners（从业者）may find themselves repeatedly in the dilemma of choosing between telling the true information and covering it up. Therefore,there is an urgent need to debate this issue openly.Otherwise,people in our society will be blindly comfortable in the old saying,"What you don't know can't hurt you."
Should a doctor lie to patients for their benefit?（要点1）According to some studies, to avoid the risk of worsening their health condition, most doctors choose to hide the truth from the patient suffering from fatal illness.（要点2）However, it has been found out most patients prefer to be told the truth, which, if imparted, will enable them to battle bravely with illness. (要点3) In view of the similar dilemma repeated in other professions, this issue cries for an open debate. (要点4)