[Limits of curation and palliation]

Informed consent is the condition for treating a patient, in curative and palliative settings. If, due to the medical situation, a valid consent cannot be acquired a substituted judgement based on information about the patients preferences will be applied. Accordingly the mobile palliative team of Caritas Socialis requires that patients are informed about their disease condition and agree to palliative measures. The team asks for clear communication about end of life situations, death and dying, which is sometimes difficult for relatives and patients. Sometimes defense mechanisms appear to deny the true situation in order to cope with the disease. The case report shows an example of a particular problematic challenge to combine palliative ideas with impossible curative hopes. An open discussion tries to clarify positions and seeks for future solutions.