My mother's gift--the link between honesty and hope

Doctors and other care providers often refuse to be direct and straightforward with patients needing end-of-life care because they do not want to take away hope. But the resiliency of hope is not linked with continuing life. Using introspection, a review of the literature, and a sampling of opinions gleaned from members and friends of the Midwest Bioethics Center, the author of this article concludes that all patients should be given full and forthright knowledge about the prognoses--not in spite of the patient's need for hope, but in hope's service.