3.Techniques of truth-telling in hospice palliative care
Ellen Nightingale, C.N.S. (Australia)
Techniques in truth-telling in hospice palliative care or Discussing the reality of their situation with the patient and/or family in a palliative care setting
Dr Hinohara, and the meeting organising committee, local and international delegates
Thank you for inviting me to come and present to you today. It is a great honour to be with you in Japan again. I bring you greetings from Western Australia and especially from the sister Hospice of the Peace House, the Cottage Hospice.
Introduction
I have been asked to present to you about truth telling in palliative care. This is of course not as simple as it sounds. The truth somehow sounds like information which is given according to the facts, no matter what the consequence, a bit like the banker telling us that we are overdrawn in our account. This kind of truth about the consequences of illness has never been advocated as the philosophy of palliative care.
Today I would like to present to you firstly, some of the thinking expressed in recent literature about discussing the reality of a terminal illness with a person, and secondly to present some important points to consider when it is appropriate to explore these issues with a person.
At this point I would like to make a disclaimer. We have already heard today, that the cultural and social context of a person must be considered when we talk about a persons right to know about their illness and their need to know. I am aware that what I have been asked to present to you comes from my own cultural and social context and that this
Presentation for the Life Planning Centre in Tokyo, Japan, 23 February 1997,
