Compassion in Action: Managing Difficult Conversations in Palliative Care

Hershel Goldstein is a 78-year-old gentleman with end stage heart failure.

Helping patients with a serious illness adapt to their illness realities throughout their illness trajectory. Communicating prognosis, asking patients what is most important to them, and making recommendations grounded in patients’ values and priorities.

Max Bosko is an 80-year-old with advanced emphysematous chronic obstructive lung disease and dementia.

Assisting patients and their loved ones to refocus their hope as they transition from curative care to palliative care. Eliciting a patient’s goals for care and clarifying their treatment priorities.

Mark Foster is a 41-year-old male with a primary diagnosis of metastatic rectal cancer with disease to liver, bone, and brain.

Building a safe and supportive environment for patients and their families. Assisting patients and family members with coping strategies, redefining their roles within the family and in the community, reframing “hope,” and coordinating the necessary resources to address patients’ suffering.