Department News

Gramling Discusses Honesty in Communicating with Cancer Patients with USA Today

June 9, 2017 by Madi Wood

Robert Gramling, M.D., associate professor of family medicine at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, speaks about communicating honestly with cancer patients about their prognosis in a June 9 USA Today article.

Robert Gramling, M.D., associate professor of family medicine

In a June 9, 2017 USA Today article titled "'How long have I got?': Why many cancer patients don't have answers," Robert Gramling, M.D., associate professor of family medicine at the UVM Larner College of Medicine spoke about the difference between how doctors and patients approach the question of life expectancy. The article also tackled the patient's wish for honesty but also their need for an optimistic message. "Patients want doctors to be honest with them," Gramling says, "and they want doctors to honestly tell them that their disease can be cured".

Read the full article here