Editors' Note

We are pleased to publish the second issue of volume seven of Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics (NIB). This symposium includes 15 personal narratives. There are 12 stories that appear in print and an additional three are available in the online supplement. The stories are from people who have faced a cancer diagnosis—either their own or their child's—where the treatment threatened future fertility. NIB co–editor in chief, Ana Iltis served as the narrative symposium editor for this issue. She, along with other members of the NIB editorial staff, wrote the call for stories and invited Teresa Woodruff, Bryan Sisk, and Becket Gremmels to write commentary articles on these narratives. The three are experts in ovarian biology and oncofertility, pediatric oncology and decision–making, and healthcare ethics, respectively.

The research article in this issue, written by Maude Laliberté, Bryn William–Jones, Debbie Feldman, and Matthew Hunt, "Ethical Challenges for Patient Access to Physical Therapy: Views of Staff Members from Three Publicly–Funded Outpatient Physical Therapy Departments," discusses ethical issues related to allocation of and access to physical therapy services. With an aging population, and improvements in medical technology and management of critical injuries or illnesses, there is an increasing demand for rehabilitation services as the number of people living with chronic disability rises. The article explores wait–list management, circumnavigating requests for professional courtesies to make arrangements for "priority patients," and the equitable provision of care where available resources are not commensurate with patient needs.

The case study in this issue came from one of our case study partnerships at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Written by Shalini Dalal, Jessica A. Moore, and Colleen M. Gallagher, "We Didn't Consent to This" explores issues related to health communication, cultural competence, and palliative care. The case details a situation in which a woman from the Middle East traveled to the US to receive treatment for metastatic breast cancer. Shortly after arriving, she experienced a stroke and other complications that precluded her from receiving treatment for her cancer. Instead, the patient's family had to confront end–of–life decisions while the care team worked to understand and accommodate the family's religious and cultural needs.

News about Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics

Please visit www.nibjournal.org to see our new website! The new website contains a fresh new look, is easier to navigate, and is mobile-friendly. We thank Cynthia McKenna for her creative design work.

The website also lists our current calls for stories. We have two new calls: Native Spanish Speakers and the U.S. Healthcare System and Challenges with Healthcare in the Rural and Prairie Environment. We need the assistance of our readers to identify authors who will address controversial topics in healthcare as they report on their experiences, cases, or research projects. Please forward these calls on to anyone who may be interested in submitting a story.