[Bad news and the successful life]

The following article analyses the context of time and structure for discussions about bad news. Patient and the physician live in different time frames: physician is in an ongoing hurry, meanwhile the patient is constantly waiting for something. The patient/physician relationship has to offer the patient the possibility to transform bad news successfully into the patient's life plan. This is possible only in an atmosphere of trust. Personal openness by the physician and helpful structures in a hospital are basic conditions for such a process. The process consumes time and energy of all people involved. To let things be as they are and to accept slowness as another option will bring new opportunities for patients and physicians to deal responsibly with bad news.