Very good points. As a carer for my husband who has terminal cancer, the things mentioned in the article are very relevant. Many cancer patients cannot do all the impressive posts and charity gigs that are shown on tv, facebook etc! 

We log all appointments, tablets taken, food eaten, daily ups and downs, this helps both ourselves, and our doctors to see how things are going.

Try to laugh, encourage friends an relations to talk about things that they are doing (holidays, their own problems), just because one life may be ending,the cancer patient does not want to be treated as a write off, with people afraid to talk about their lives. Letlife continue as normally as possible.

There will be dark days, write them off! Live each day at a time.

Above all don't be afraid to ask for help, Cancerchat forum is great for venting, getting encouragement, and sharing prblems.

Ok article, I followed the further reading links. Regarding doctors being honest and being willing to tell patients stuff, I've always wanted all my medics to tell me the truth as they see it, holding nothing back. I think most have.

In retrospect, I think my radiotherapy consultant should have made me much more aware that radiotherapy would likely have some negative effect and explained at least some of the probables. In fairness side effects were mentioned, even death, but seemed to be glossed over such as they became something that there was no need to be concerned about.

Compare this to the consultant who explained that if he didn't operate, now, I'd be dead within 24 hours and might well die anyway.

I much prefer the second consultant.

I don't need doctors to be right all the time but I do want their best estimate.