We designed this talking map to give you a just-in-time route through a complex conversation. Think of it as a series of signposts—you might find that not all apply to a particular patient.

What you say:

  • What have other doctors told you about what your prognosis, or the future?

  • How much have you been thinking about the future?

What you say:

  • For some people prognosis is numbers or statistics about how long they will live.

  • For other people, prognosis is about living to a particular date. What would be more helpful for you?

What you say:

  • Talking about the future can be a little scary.

  • If you’re not sure, maybe you could tell me how you see the pros and cons of discussing this.

  • If clinically deteriorating: From what I know of you, talking about this information might affect decisions you are thinking about.

What you say:

  • To provide using statistics:

    • The worst case scenario is [25th percentile], and the best case scenario is [75th percentile].

    • If I had 100 people with a similar situation, by [median survival], 50 would have died of cancer and 50 would still be alive with cancer.

  • To provide without statistics:

    • From my knowledge of your situation and how you cancer has been changing /responding, I think there is a good/50-50/slim chance that you will be able to be around [on that date/for that event].

 What you say:

  • I can see this is not what you were hoping for.

  • I wish I had better news.

  • I can only imagine how this information feels to you. I appreciate that you want to know what to expect.

Copyright VitalTalk 2019