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Karuizawa Hospital is a rural, small town municipal hospital with 60 beds, located in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan. The terminal stages of patients who were treated in our department of surgery but later died of cancer are reviewed. In the five year period extending from April, 1994 through March, 1999 sixty patients died from cancer. Of them, 34 people died in their own home and 26 in our hospital. The annual ratio of patients who died at home to those who died in the hospital are analyzed, as well as whether these ratios differed according to the location of the patient's cancer. The identity of the patients' main home caregiver was sought, as well as how many days the patients resided at home until they passed away, and how frequently doctors or nurses visited their home. Some of the doctors' attempts to gain informed consent are described. Based on the findings, the authors recommend an end to the practice of first revealing the name and details of a patient's disease to his/her family. It was also found that documented information is useful in order to promote smooth relationships among patients, family members, and the doctor.