Health

Who Should Be Allowed a Medically Assisted Death?

Published

4 weeks ago

December 9, 2025

Who Should Be Allowed a Medically Assisted Death?

Ron Curtis, an English professor in Montreal, lived for 40 years with a degenerative spinal disease, in what he called the “black hole” of chronic pain.

On a July day in 2022, Mr. Curtis, 64, ate a last bowl of vegetable soup made by his wife, Lori, and, with the help of a palliative care doctor, died in his bedroom overlooking a lake.

Aron Wade, a successful 54-year-old stage and television actor in Belgium, decided he could no longer tolerate life with the depression that haunted him for three decades.

Last year, after a panel of medical experts found he had “unbearable mental suffering,” a doctor came to his home and gave him medicine to stop his heart, with his partner and two best friends at his side.

Argemiro Ariza was in his early 80s when he began to lose function in his limbs, no longer able to care for his wife, who had dementia, in their home in Bogotá.

Doctors diagnosed A.L.S., and he told his daughter Olga that he wanted to die while he still had dignity. His children threw him a party with a mariachi band and lifted him from his wheelchair to dance. A few days later, he admitted himself to a hospital, and a doctor administered a drug that ended his life.

Until recently, each of these deaths would have been considered a murder. But a monumental change is underway around the world. From liberal European countries to conservative Latin American ones, a new way of thinking about death is starting to take hold.

Stephanie Nolen is exploring access, attitudes and approaches to medically assisted death around the world.

Dec. 9, 2025

Over the past five years, the practice of allowing a physician to help severely ill patients end their lives with medication has been legalized in nine countries on three continents. Courts or legislatures, or both, are considering legalization in a half-dozen more, including South Korea and South Africa, as well as eight of the 31 American states where it remains prohibited.

It is a last frontier in the expansion of individual autonomy. More people are seeking to define the terms of their deaths in the same way they have other aspects of their lives, such as marriage and childbearing. This is true even in Latin America, where conservative institutions such as the Roman Catholic church are still powerful.

“We believe in the priority of our control over our bodies, and as a heterogeneous culture, we believe in choices: If your choice does not affect me, go ahead,” said Dr. Julieta Moreno Molina, a bioethicist who has advised Colombia’s Ministry of Health on its assisted dying regulations.

Yet, as assisted death gains more acceptance, there are major unresolved questions about who should be eligible. While most countries begin with assisted death for terminal illness, which has the most public support, this is often followed quickly by a push for wider access. With that push comes often bitter public debate.

Should someone with intractable depression be allowed an assisted death?

European countries and Colombia all permit people with irremediable suffering from conditions such as depression or schizophrenia to seek an assisted death. But in Canada, the issue has become contentious. Assisted death for people who do not have a reasonably foreseeable natural death was legalized in 2021, but the government has repeatedly excluded people with mental illness. Two of them are challenging the exclusion in court on the grounds that it violates their constitutional rights.

In public debate, supporters of the right to assisted death for these patients say that people who have lived with severe depression for years, and have tried a variety of therapies and medications, should be allowed to decide when they are no longer willing to keep pursuing treatments. Opponents, concerned that mental illness can involve a pathological wish to die, say it can be difficult to predict the potential effectiveness of treatments. And, they argue, people who struggle to get help from an overburdened public health service may simply give up and choose to die, though their conditions might have been improved.

Should a child with an incurable condition be able to choose assisted death?

The ability to consent is a core consideration in requesting assisted death. Only a handful of countries are willing to extend that right to minors. Even in the places that do, there are just a few assisted deaths for children each year, almost always children with cancer.

In Colombia and the Netherlands, children over 12 can request assisted death on their own. Parents can provide consent for children 11 and younger.

Denise de Ruijter took comfort in her Barbie dolls when she struggled to connect with people. She was diagnosed with autism and had episodes of depression and psychosis. As a teenager in a Dutch town, she craved the life her schoolmates had — nights out, boyfriends — but couldn’t manage it.

She attempted suicide several times before applying for an assisted death at 18. Evaluators required her to try three years of additional therapies before agreeing her suffering was unbearable. She died in 2021, with her family and Barbies nearby.

The issue is under renewed scrutiny in the Netherlands, where, over the past decade, a growing number of adolescents have applied for assisted death for relief from irremediable psychiatric suffering from conditions such as eating disorders and anxiety.

Most such applications by teens are either withdrawn by the patient, or rejected by assessors, but public concern over a few high-profile cases of teens who received assisted deaths prompted the country’s regulator to consider a moratorium on approvals for children applying on the basis of psychiatric suffering.

Should someone with dementia be allowed assisted death?

Many people dread the idea of losing their cognitive abilities and their autonomy, and hope to have an assisted death when they reach that point. But this is a more complex situation to regulate than for a person who can still make a clear request.

How can a person who is losing their mental capacity consent to dying? Most governments, and doctors, are too uncomfortable to permit it, even though the idea tends to be popular in countries with aging populations.

In Colombia, Spain, Ecuador and the Canadian province of Quebec, people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or other kinds of cognitive decline can request assessment for an assisted death before they lose mental capacity, sign an advance request — and then have a physician end their life after they have lost the ability to consent themselves.

But that raises a separate, challenging, question: After people lose the capacity to request an assisted death, who should decide it’s time?

Their spouses? Their children? Their doctors? The government? Colombia entrusts families with this role. The Netherlands leaves it up to doctors — but many refuse to do it, unwilling to administer lethal drugs to a patient who can’t clearly articulate a rational wish to die.

Jan Grijpma was always clear with his daughter, Maria: When his mind went, he didn’t want to live any more. Maria worked with his longtime family doctor, in Amsterdam, to identify the point when Mr. Grijpma, 90 and living in a nursing home, was losing his ability to consent himself.

When it seemed close, in 2023, they booked the day, and he updated his day planner: Thursday, visit the vicar; Friday, bicycle with physiotherapy and get a haircut; Sunday, pancakes with Maria; Monday, euthanasia.

All of these questions are becoming part of the discussion as the right to control and plan one’s own death is pushed in front of reluctant legislatures and uneasy medical professionals.

Dr. Madeline Li, a Toronto psychiatrist, was given the task of developing the assisted-dying practice in one of Canada’s largest hospitals when the procedure was first decriminalized in 2015. She began with assessing patients for eligibility and then moved to providing medical assistance in dying, or MAID, as it is called in Canada. For some patients with terminal cancer, it felt like the best form of care she could offer, she said.

But then Canada’s eligibility criteria expanded, and Dr. Li found herself confronting a different kind of patient.

“To provide assisted dying to somebody dying of a condition who is not happy with how they’re going to die, I’m willing to assist them, and hasten that death,” she said. “I struggle more with people who aren’t dying and want MAID — I think then you’re assisting suicide. If you’re not dying — if I didn’t give you MAID, you wouldn’t otherwise die — then you’re a person who’s not unhappy with how you’re going to die. You’re unhappy with how you’re living.”

Who has broken the taboo?

For decades, Switzerland was the only country to permit assisted death; assisted suicide was legalized there in 1942. It took a further half century for a few more countries to loosen their laws. Now decriminalization of some form of assisted death has occurred across Europe.

But there has recently been a wave of legalization in Latin America, where Colombia was long an outlier, having allowed legal assisted dying since 2015.

Paola Roldán Espinosa had a thriving career in business in Ecuador, and a toddler, when she was diagnosed with A.L.S. in 2023. Her health soon deteriorated to the point that she needed a ventilator.

She wanted to die on her terms — and took the case to the country’s highest court. In February 2024, the court responded to her petition by decriminalizing assisted dying. Ms. Roldán, then 42, had the death she sought, with her family around her, a month later.

Ecuador has decriminalized assisted dying through constitutional court cases, and Peru’s Supreme Court has permitted individual exceptions to the law which prohibits the procedure, opening the door to expansion. Cuba’s national assembly legalized assisted dying in 2023, although no regulations on how the procedure will work are yet in place. In October, Uruguay’s parliament passed a long-debated law allowing assisted death for the terminally ill.

The first country in Asia to take steps toward legalization is South Korea, where a bill to decriminalize assisted death has been proposed at the National Assembly several times but has not come to a vote. At the same time, the Constitutional Court, which for years refused to hear cases on the subject, has agreed to adjudicate a petition from a disabled man with severe and chronic pain who seeks an assisted death.

Access in the United States remains limited: 11 jurisdictions (10 states plus the District of Columbia) allow assisted suicide or physician-assisted death, for patients who have a terminal diagnosis, and in some cases, only for patients who are already in hospice care. It will become legal in Delaware on Jan. 1, 2026.

In Slovenia, in 2024, 55 percent of the population who voted in a national referendum were in favor of legalizing assisted death, and parliament duly passed a law in July. But pushback from right-wing politicians then forced a new referendum, and in late November, 54 percent of those who voted rejected the legalization.

And in the United Kingdom, a bill to legalize assisted death for people with terminal illness has made its way slowly through parliament. It has faced fierce opposition from a coalition of more than 60 groups for people with disabilities, who argue they may face subtle coercion to end their lives rather than drain their families or the state of resources for their care.

Why now?

In many countries, decriminalization of assisted dying has followed the expansion of rights for personal choice in other areas, such as the removal of restrictions on same-sex marriage, abortion and sometimes drug use.

“I would expect it to be on the agenda in every liberal democracy,” said Wayne Sumner, a medical ethicist at the University of Toronto who studies the evolution of norms and regulations around assisted dying. “They’ll come to it at their own speed, but it follows with these other policies.”

The change is also being driven by a convergence of political, demographic and cultural trends.

As populations age, and access to health care improves, more people are living longer. Older populations mean more chronic disease, and more people living with compromised health. And they are thinking about death, and what they will — and won’t — be willing to tolerate in the last years of their lives.

At the same time, there is diminishing tolerance for suffering that is perceived as unnecessary.

“Until very recently, we were a society where few people lived past 60 — and now suddenly we live much longer,” said Lina Paola Lara Negrette, a psychologist who until October was the director of the Dying With Dignity Foundation in Colombia. “Now people here need to think about the system, and the services that are available, and what they will want.”

Changes in family structures and communities, particularly in rapidly urbanizing middle-income countries, mean that traditional networks of care are less strong, which shifts how people can imagine living in older age or with chronic illness, she added.

“When you had many siblings and a lot of generations under one roof, the question of care was a family thing,” she said. “That has changed. And it shapes how we think about living, and dying.”

How does assisted dying work?

Beyond the ethical dilemmas, actually carrying out legalized assisted deaths involves countless choices for countries. Spain requires a waiting period of at least 15 days between a patient’s assessments (but the average wait in practice is 75 days). In most other places, the prescribed wait is less than two weeks for patients with terminal conditions, but often longer in practice, said Katrine Del Villar, a professor of constitutional law at the Queensland University of Technology who tracks trends in assisted dying

Most countries allow patients to choose between administering the drugs themselves or having a health care provider do it. When both options are available, the overwhelming majority of people choose to have a health care provider end their life with an injection that stops their heart.

In many countries only a doctor can administer the drugs, but Canada and New Zealand permit nurse practitioners to provide medically assisted deaths too.

One Australian state prohibits medical professionals from raising the topic of assisted death. A patient must ask about it first.

Who determines eligibility is another issue. In the Netherlands, two physicians assess a patient; in Colombia, it’s a panel consisting of a medical specialist, a psychologist and a lawyer. The draft legislation in Britain would require both a panel and two independent physicians.

Switzerland and the states of Oregon and Vermont are the only jurisdictions in the world that explicitly allow people who are not residents access to assisted deaths.

Most countries permit medical professionals to conscientiously object to providing assisted deaths and allow faith-based medical institutions to refuse to participate. In Canada, individual professionals have the right to refuse, but a court challenge is underway seeking to end the ability of hospitals that are controlled by faith-based organizations and that operate with public funds to refuse to allow assisted deaths on their premises.

“Even when assisted dying has been legal and available somewhere for a long time, there can be a gap between what is legal and what is acceptable — what most physicians and patients and families feel comfortable with,” said Dr. Sisco van Veen, an ethicist and psychiatrist at Amsterdam Medical University. “And this isn’t static. It evolves over time.”

Jin Yu Young in Seoul, José Bautista in Madrid, José María León Cabrera in Quito, Veerle Schyns in Amsterdam and Koba Ryckewaert in Brussels contributed reporting.

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Health

Common pain relievers may raise heart disease and stroke risk, doctors warn

Published

8 hours ago

January 6, 2026

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Common pain relievers may raise heart disease and stroke risk, doctors warn

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Many might assume that over-the-counter (OTC) medications are generally safer than stronger prescription drugs, but research shows they can still present risks for some.

Certain common OTC painkillers have been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attacks.

Potential risk of NSAIDs

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — which are used to reduce pain, fever and inflammation — have been pinpointed as the class of medicines most linked to elevated cardiovascular risk.

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“This is because they reduce the production of certain chemicals called prostaglandins,” Maryam Jowza, M.D., an anesthesiologist at UNC Health in North Carolina, told Fox News Digital. “These chemicals are involved in inflammation, but they are also involved in other body functions, such as influencing the tone of blood vessels.”

Certain common OTC painkillers have been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart attacks. (iStock)

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, echoed the potential risk of NSAIDs.

“They can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke via fluid retention and salt retention,” he told Fox News Digital. “This increases volume, puts a strain on the heart and raises blood pressure.”

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Common examples of NSAIDs include ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, diclofenac, indomethacin and celecoxib.

Randomized trials found that ibuprofen caused the biggest spikes in blood pressure, followed by naproxen and then celecoxib.

“In general, the increase in blood pressure is more likely with higher doses and longer duration of treatment,” said Jowza, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the UNC School of Medicine.

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NSAIDs can also increase stroke risk, especially at high doses and with long-term use, the doctor added.

Diclofenac was linked to the highest cardiovascular risk, the doctor cautioned. Ibuprofen can also raise blood pressure and has been associated with a higher heart attack and stroke risk, but not as high as diclofenac. Naproxen carries a lower cardiovascular risk than ibuprofen or diclofenac, but is not entirely risk-free.

NSAIDs have been pinpointed as the class of medicines most linked to elevated cardiovascular risk. (iStock)

“The practical takeaway is that diclofenac is generally the least favorable choice in patients with elevated cardiovascular risk, and all NSAIDs should be used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration,” Dr. Nayan Patel, pharmacist and founder of Auro Wellness in Southern California, told Fox News Digital.

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Aspirin is an exception — although it is an NSAID, it actually reduces the risk of clots when taken at a low dose for prevention, under a doctor’s guidance. However, it can increase bleeding risk and blood pressure at high doses.

Non-NSAIDs safer, but not risk-free

Non-NSAID pain relievers are commonly used for everyday aches, headaches and fever, but not swelling. They act mainly on the brain’s pain signals, not inflammation, according to medical experts.

Acetaminophen, the most common non-NSAID pain reliever, is also linked to an increase in blood pressure, although to a lesser extent, according to Jowza.

“All NSAIDs should be used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration.”

“Acetaminophen was once thought to have little to no cardiovascular effects, but more recent evidence suggests it can increase blood pressure, especially with higher doses used in the long term,” she said, emphasizing the importance of blood pressure monitoring. “Its effect on stroke risk is less clear.”

Which groups are most vulnerable?

The groups at greatest risk, according to doctors, are those with existing health conditions, such as high blood pressure, prior stroke or heart disease, diabetes or kidney problems.

“These groups are also more likely to experience NSAID-related fluid retention and destabilization of blood pressure control,” Patel said.

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Cardiovascular risk is generally higher for people 75 and older, the doctors agreed.

“Age amplifies risk largely because baseline cardiovascular risk increases with age, and kidney function reserve tends to decline,” Patel said. “Older adults are also more likely to be on antihypertensives, diuretics, antiplatelets or anticoagulants, so NSAIDs can destabilize blood pressure control and add safety complexity.”

Warning signs

Anyone experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, sudden weakness or numbness, severe headache, confusion, slurred speech or vision changes should see a doctor immediately, Jowza advised.

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“These symptoms can point to a heart attack or stroke,” she warned. “Other symptoms of concern that may not develop as rapidly, like new swelling in the legs, should also prompt medical attention.”

Anyone experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, sudden weakness or numbness, severe headache, confusion, slurred speech or vision changes should see a doctor immediately, a doctor advised. (iStock)

“Patients should also seek medical advice if they notice signs of fluid retention or kidney stress, such as rapidly rising blood pressure, swelling in the legs, sudden weight gain over a few days, reduced urine output or worsening shortness of breath,” Patel added.

Safer alternatives

For those at higher risk, Patel recommends non-NSAID approaches whenever possible.

“For many patients, this means starting with non-drug strategies such as heat or ice, physical therapy and activity modification,” he told Fox News Digital. “If medication is needed, acetaminophen is generally preferred over oral NSAIDs from a cardiovascular standpoint, although regular use should still be monitored in people with hypertension.”

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For localized joint or muscle pain, the doctor said topical NSAIDs can offer “meaningful relief” with “far lower” risk.

“Overall, pain management in high-risk patients should emphasize targeted therapy, conservative dosing and close blood pressure monitoring.”

Bottom line

The doctors emphasized that the overall risk is “very low” for people taking OTC pain relievers on a short-term basis, but it rises with long-term, high-dose use.

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“I would not hesitate to use an occasional dose if it were a low-risk individual with no prior history of heart attack or stroke,” Jowza said. “I also think short-term use in diabetics and hypertensives who are well-controlled is acceptable.”

Although aspirin is an NSAID, it actually reduces the risk of clots when taken at a low dose for prevention, under a doctor’s guidance. (iStock)

For those taking NSAIDs, the doctor suggested using “guard rails” — such as regularly testing blood pressure and kidney function, and setting limits on dosing — to make treatment as safe as possible.

Patel agreed that for most healthy individuals, occasional NSAID use “does not carry a meaningful cardiovascular risk.”

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“The concern is primarily with repeated or chronic use, higher doses, and use in people with underlying cardiovascular, kidney or blood pressure conditions,” he confirmed to Fox News Digital.

“That said, large population studies show that cardiovascular events can occur early after starting NSAIDs, particularly at higher doses, which is why even short-term use should be approached cautiously in higher-risk patients.”

Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.

Health

Flu hospitalizations hit all-time weekly high in densely populated state, officials warn

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20 hours ago

January 6, 2026

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Flu hospitalizations hit all-time weekly high in densely populated state, officials warn

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The New York State Department of Health has announced the highest number of flu hospitalizations recorded in a single week.

The state confirmed the uptick in hospital visits in a press release on Jan. 2, as flu cases continue to rise in the region and nationwide.

New York State, including New York City, has consistently tracked the highest numbers of recorded respiratory illness cases in the country for the last few weeks, according to CDC data. Several other states have climbed to the “very high” category for respiratory activity as well, as of the week ending Dec. 27.

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The most recent data from the New York health department showed a total of 4,546 hospitalizations from Dec. 26, 2025, to Jan. 2, 2026 – a week-over-week increase of nearly 1,000. The prior week, the department announced the highest number of flu cases ever recorded in a single seven-day period.

The New York State Department of Health reported a total of 4,546 hospitalizations from Dec. 26, 2025, to Jan. 2, 2026. (iStock)

In a statement, New York’s Acting Commissioner of Health Dr. James McDonald noted the severity of this flu season compared to previous years.

“Almost 1,000 more people were admitted to a hospital during this most recent seven-day period compared to the prior week,” he confirmed. “There is still time to get a flu shot, and remember, flu can be treated with antiviral medication if started within 48 hours of symptom onset [as] your doctor deems appropriate.”

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Health officials are pushing for Americans to consider getting the flu vaccine, as experts consider it to be a top line of defense for preventing viral exposure and spread.

Flu symptoms can include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat and runny nose. (iStock)

In a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Neil Maniar, professor of public health practice at Boston’s Northeastern University, emphasized that it’s not too late to get the flu vaccine, as peak season typically occurs in January.

“The vaccine still provides protection against serious illness resulting from the subclade K variant that seems to be going around,” he said.

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Even healthy individuals can become seriously ill from the flu, Maniar noted, “so a vaccine is beneficial for almost everyone.”

“Individuals typically start to develop some degree of protection within a few days and gain the full benefit within about two weeks, so now is the time for anyone who hasn’t gotten the vaccine yet.”

“The vaccine still provides protection against serious illness resulting from the subclade K variant that seems to be going around,” one doctor said. (iStock)

Flu symptoms can include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat and runny nose.

A mutation of influenza A H3N2, called subclade K, has been detected as the culprit in rising global cases, causing more intense symptoms and higher risk of spread.

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“It’s becoming evident that this is a pretty severe variant of the flu,” Maniar said. “Certainly, in other parts of the world where this variant has been prevalent, it’s caused some severe illness, and we’re seeing an aggressive flu season already.”

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New York State recommends taking preventive actions to avoid flu infection. These include washing hands often; avoiding touching the eyes, nose and mouth; avoiding close contact with sick people; cleaning and disinfecting objects and surfaces; and staying home when feeling sick.

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.

Health

Not all cancers should be treated right away, medical experts say — here’s why

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1 day ago

January 5, 2026

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Not all cancers should be treated right away, medical experts say — here’s why

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When someone gets a cancer diagnosis, the initial reaction is usually to undergo treatment as quickly as possible — but for some types of disease, doctors may recommend a more conservative approach.

For certain cancers, immediate or aggressive treatment can cause more harm than good, according to multiple medical experts.

For example, treating slow-growing tumors with surgery, radiation or chemotherapy could create significant side effects without a survival benefit.

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“The fact that so many cancers will never kill you is not a justification for not knowing, because there is still plenty of room for ‘watchful waiting,’ as well as interventions that may improve quality of life even if they don’t extend life,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.

This is especially true as targeted cancer treatments emerge, which are more personalized and less likely to cause severe side effects, according to the doctor.

For precancerous, very early-stage breast conditions, careful monitoring may be more prudent than immediate surgery, research shows. (iStock)

“The fact that cancers are occurring earlier is a justification for heightened screenings, not the opposite,” Siegel added. “Information is power — what you do with that information is based on clinical judgment and the art of medicine.”

Below are some types of cancer that may not warrant treatment, according to research and doctors’ guidance.

No. 1: Prostate cancer (low-risk)

While some types of prostate cancer should be treated right away, others are better addressed by “watchful waiting,” according to Sanoj Punnen, M.D., a urologic oncologist with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System.

“With respect to prostate cancer, for most low-risk cancers (Gleason 6 or grade group 1), we recommend initial observation and surveillance rather than immediate treatment,” he told Fox News Digital.

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The Gleason score is a grading system that ranks prostate cancer cells in terms of how abnormal they are, with 6 being the lowest grade and 10 being the highest grade (barely resembling normal cells).

“For high-grade tumors like Gleason 8, 9 or 10, we believe they progress quickly, so we recommend treatment to prevent the risk of metastasis,” said Punnen, who is also vice chair of research and a professor with the Desai Sethi Urology Institute at UHealth. “For low-risk tumors, we think they pose little risk, so we recommend just observation.”

“The fact that cancers are occurring earlier is a justification for heightened screenings, not the opposite.”

“But in the end, we can’t be sure, so our approach to observation includes serial monitoring of cancer status with PSA, MRI and occasional biopsy to ensure the tumor isn’t progressing.”

No. 2: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)

Also known as stage 0 breast cancer, DCIS is a non-invasive disease marked by abnormal cells in the lining of the breast milk ducts. The “in situ” is Latin for “in the original place,” which indicates that the cancer has not spread outside the milk ducts.

For this precancerous, very early-stage breast condition, careful monitoring may be more prudent than immediate surgery, research shows.

While some types of prostate cancer should be treated right away, others are better addressed by “watchful waiting,” according to a urologic oncologist. (iStock)

A 2024 study by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that active monitoring for DCIS resulted in similar quality of life, mental health and symptom progression over a two-year period compared to a standard surgical approach.

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“These results suggest that in the short term, active monitoring is a reasonable approach to management of low-risk DCIS,” the lead researcher said in a press release. “If longer-term follow-up supports the safety of active management from a cancer outcome standpoint, this approach could be considered as an option for women with this condition.”

“But it is also critical that we understand how women feel when they are living with this ‘watch and wait’ approach and how it impacts their overall quality of life.”

Other research has suggested that women with low-risk DCIS did not have a higher rate of invasive cancer after two years of active monitoring, although each patient should discuss their individual risk level with an oncologist.

No. 3: Indolent (slow-growing) lymphomas

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a type of cancer that starts in the lymphatic system, which includes the lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, bone marrow and other tissues.

Indolent lymphomas are those that “grow and spread slowly,” according to the American Cancer Society.

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The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends watchful waiting for asymptomatic, slow-growing follicular lymphoma, as a means of avoiding the toxicity of chemotherapy and immunotherapy until it’s absolutely necessary.

The Lymphoma Research Foundation confirms that doctors recommend “active surveillance” for some patients with slow-growing lymphoma.

Indolent lymphomas are those that “grow and spread slowly,” according to the American Cancer Society. (iStock)

“This approach may be started after the initial diagnosis or after relapse, depending on the situation,” the foundation states on its website. “Active treatment is started if the patient begins to develop lymphoma-related symptoms or if there are signs that the disease is progressing.”

Treatment should be started right away for aggressive (fast-growing) lymphomas.

No. 4: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

One of the most common adult leukemias, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) originates in white blood cells (lymphocytes) in the bone marrow and then spreads to the bloodstream, according to the American Cancer Society.

CLL tends to grow slowly, with many patients experiencing no symptoms for years. Eventually, the cancer calls can spread to the lymph nodes, liver and spleen.

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Some studies have shown that early treatment for CLL does not improve survival rates compared to observation, and that the benefits may not outweigh the risks.

In a 2023 study presented at the European Hematology Association 2023 Congress in Frankfurt, Germany, researchers found that early treatment did not prolong overall survival compared to a placebo in patients with early, asymptomatic CLL.

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“I believe it’s fair to conclude that ‘watch-and-wait’ should remain the standard of care in the era of targeted drugs,” said researcher Petra Langerbeins, M.D., when presenting the findings.

No. 5: Low-grade endometrial cancer

For most patients with endometrial cancer, surgery is the first treatment, which entails removing the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, according to the American Cancer Society.

However, in certain patients with low-grade cancer, such as older people, those with “frailty” and people with major health issues, doctors may recommend deferring surgery, which can pose a high risk.

The American Thyroid Association’s guidelines officially recommend active surveillance for very low-risk microcarcinomas. (iStock)

In cases where the patient has medical comorbidities or wants to preserve fertility, hormone treatment may be used instead of surgery, per the ACS.

“It’s usually also considered for cancer that is lower-grade, low-volume and slow-growing,” the above source stated.

No. 6: Some early kidney cancers

In cases of kidney cancer with small tumors (≤3 cm) or benign lesions, doctors may recommend monitoring them instead of undergoing surgery for removal.

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The American Urological Association confirms that active surveillance is an option for some small renal masses (localized tumors).

“I believe it’s fair to conclude that ‘watch-and-wait’ should remain the standard of care in the era of targeted drugs.”

Deferred treatment is particularly recommended for older patients or those with “significant comorbidities,” research shows.

“Shared decision-making about active surveillance should consider risks of intervention/competing mortality versus potential oncologic benefits of intervention,” the UAU states in its guidance.

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Data from the Delayed Intervention and Surveillance for Small Renal Masses (DISSRM) Registry showed that patients with active surveillance had a 99% or greater cancer-specific survival rate — virtually the same as patients who received immediate treatment.

No. 7: Small papillary thyroid cancers

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), the most common type of thyroid cancer, may not warrant treatment for small tumors measuring 1 centimeter (10 mm) or less, which are called microcarcinomas.

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Research found that when using active surveillance for 10 to 20 years, less than 10% experienced significant growth, only 5% developed lymph node spread and there were no thyroid-cancer deaths.

The American Thyroid Association’s guidelines officially recommend active surveillance for very low-risk microcarcinomas.

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While many patients with low-risk tumors can safely delay treatment, this does not apply to all cancers or all patients.

As cancer behavior and personal health factors vary widely, patients should consult their doctor to determine the most appropriate course of care based on their individual risk level.

Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.