Cancer Doctor

Students and house staff officers are lucky when one of their professors takes the time to discuss with them how he/she tells a bad diagnosis to a new patient. This is how I advise them to handle it: 'Take a chair or sit on the edge of the bed if need be and touch a hand. That will comfort the patient. And don't think for a minute that men do not appreciate that gesture; they do. Unless the patient decides differently it is better when the spouse a close member of the family or a friend is prese...See More