The Relational Component of Trust in Oncology

Trust is an essential component of medical care. Patients with cancer who are not able to trust a healthcare system, or its clinicians are not able to optimally reach survivorship. Patients who opt for no cancer treatment might not be exercising self-autonomy or expressing personal wishes but rather manifesting distrust or mistrust for cancer care delivery. In modern times, the systems of care that overlay advancing oncologic science and technology pride themselves on expediency and safety but run the risk of becoming transactional and impersonal. This chapter explores the history of trust in medicine, evidence of and potential reasons for its loss, what is truly meant by trust in medicine by evaluating its proper definition, the risk of trust commodification, and that restoration of trust must pay attention to relational components.