“The language of hope – whether, when and how to invoke it – has become an excruciatingly difficult issue in the modern relationship between doctor and patient.
For centuries, doctors followed Hippocrates’ injunction to hold out hope to patients, even when it meant withholding the truth. But that canon has been blasted apart by modern patients’ demands for honesty and more involvement in their care. Now, patients may be told more than they need or want to know. Yet they still also need and want hope.
In response, some doctors are beginning to think about hope in new ways. In certain cases, that means tempering a too-bleak prognosis. In others, it means resisting the allure of cutting-edge treatments with questionable benefits.” (New York Times )
