# Consent and education before anticancer treatment

Source: https://onco.cc/protocols/consent-and-education-before-anticancer-treatment/  
OnCo record `consent-and-education-before-anticancer-treatment` (Protocol). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Before cancer drug treatment starts, you should be told what the treatment is for, what it involves, its likely benefits and side effects, what the other options are (including no treatment), and given time to decide. You should also get written information and a 24-hour number, and be told which symptoms mean you must call straight away.

## Summary

Consent is a process, not a form. The GMC's standard (2020, updated 2026) sets seven principles: patients are involved in decisions, given the information they need and the time and support to understand it; professionals find out what matters to the patient and share the benefits and harms of the options and reasonable alternatives, including taking no action; adults are presumed to have capacity. Information usually includes diagnosis and prognosis and their uncertainties, the options, what each involves and the likely benefits, risks of harm and chance of success, with recognised risks anyone in the patient's position would want to know, tailored to the individual. A consent form is a useful prompt and record but no substitute for dialogue, and the decision should be reviewed immediately before treatment and regularly during it. NICE NG197 adds time to decide, teach-back and a written summary afterwards.

The cancer-specific standard is ASCO-ONS (2024): an organisational policy for consent for anticancer treatment by any route, consent documented before the regimen starts, and education, verbal and written or electronic and in the patient's preferred language, before the first dose of each treatment plan. Its minimum content: diagnosis; goals of treatment (cure, longer life or symptom control); duration, schedule, missed doses, drug names, supportive medicines and interactions; current medicines including herbal products; short- and long-term side effects including infertility; pregnancy prevention; symptoms needing a call or urgent care; when to stop oral treatment; safe handling at home; follow-up; contact details and when to call; and the missed-appointment policy, involving family and carers as needed. BOPA (2025) asks pharmacists to confirm consent at the first-cycle check and that consent is taken by a trained professional.

## Fields

- Kind: Protocol
- Last checked: 2026-11-11
- Also known as: chemotherapy consent; SACT consent; informed consent for chemotherapy; chemotherapy education session; pre-chemotherapy teaching; chemo school; new patient chemotherapy talk

## Connected records

- protocols: [Anticancer treatment prescribing and pharmacy verification before each cycle](https://onco.cc/protocols/sact-prescribing-and-pharmacy-verification/), [Drug, herbal and food interaction review for anticancer treatment](https://onco.cc/protocols/anticancer-drug-interaction-review/), [Oral anticancer medicines at home: prescribing, teaching, adherence, storage, handling and disposal](https://onco.cc/protocols/oral-anticancer-medicines-at-home/)
- terms: [Informed consent](https://onco.cc/terms/informed-consent/)

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