Talking About Death With Terminally-Ill Cancer Patients: What Contributes to the Regret of Bereaved Family Members?

A third of bereaved families of adult cancer patients regretted not having talked about death sufficiently. Clinicians may minimize this regret by facilitating a shared understanding of the disease and prognosis, advising families explicitly when to talk based on terminal awareness, providing continuous emotional support, and validating their decision on talking about death.