[COMMUNICATION WITH TERMINALLY ILL PATIENT]

The communication is a essential therapeutic instrument in every process of relationship in the team patient-family, and mainly in the transmission of bad news. The communication is not just a simple transmission of information. It is a process whose goal is to enable the adaptation of the patient and family to their actual situation and where the "what", "how" and "how much do you want to know", are belonged to the own patient. Along this article, we will expose some thoughts that the team has to take into account when informing the patient. We are going to explain the SPIKES protocol, or its Spanish version EPICEE. 6-step protocol, based on those recommended by the experts to deliver bad news procedures. And finally we'll talk about the conspiracy of silence, one of the most common and difficult situations to handle in day to day due to paternalism by professionals and families, in which they prefer to hide the situation to the patient, thinking it's the best for him.