Expert Insight

In routine clinical practice, a treatment decision can only legally proceed after patients are adequately informed and have voluntarily granted their consent for said decision. However, in patients whose mental capacity are compromised, a decision made on their behalf from an unauthorized third party may have legal, practical, or ethical repercussions especially when rapid treatment decisions are required. In a recent interview with Omnihealth Practice, Dr. Jess Leung brought out the issues encountered by persons without decision-making capacity (i.e., also known as mentally incapacitated persons, MIPs) and their carers. As everyone has a risk of losing their mental capacity, Dr. Leung called for earlier preparation by introducing the enduring power of attorney (EPA), advance directives (AD) and will, collectively known as the ‘3 instruments of peace (平安三寶)', to protect our interests while we are still mentally sound.

Ovarian cancer remains the most deadly gynecologic malignancy, and its incidence has been steadily increasing over the past few decades. In Hong Kong, ovarian cancer is the 7th leading cause of female cancer deaths. The crude death rate was 5.5 per 100,000 female population. In 2017, a total of 218 women died from this cancer, accounting for 3.7% of all cancer deaths in females. In a recent interview, Dr. William Foo, Specialist in Clinical Oncology, shared his insights on the management of ovarian cancer in Hong Kong.