[Education and guidance of the cancer patient]

Neither the naked truth nor a compassionate lie are appropriate in the case of incurable cancer patients. The prerequisite for the effective guidance of terminal cases is genuine communication--really entering into the needs of the patient. This requires a great deal of time--more than a doctor can spare in the day-to-day running of a hospital. It is therefore necessary to delegate patient guidance to a psychosocial team. It is only through co-operation with the medical team that a therapeutic team comes into being which is in a position to be of genuine assistance to a severely ill person.