Having conversations about the future with patients who have a serious illness and their families is an integral part of providing advanced care, but discussing prognosis can be difficult. Research shows less than one-third of patients with a serious illness discuss their goals and preferences with their clinicians, and almost half of clinicians report being unsure of what to say. Garrett T. Wasp, MD, a medical oncologist at Dartmouth’s and Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC), is one of many clinicians who hold such conversations every day. “Acknowledging bad outcomes or dying can elicit strong emotions for patients, family, and clinicians,” says Wasp.
Read more here: https://cancer.dartmouth.edu/stories/article/approaching-serious-illness-conversations