We told the patient and her husband that we would contact her oncologist, the same one who had treated her gastric cancer originally. She would, we explained, help us figure out what treatment options existed. Finally, on day six, our attending got in touch with the patient’s oncologist and during a phone conversation asked about possible chemotherapy options. I spoke with the husband and told him that we had finally heard from the oncologist: no chemotherapy options existed. Because of her closeness to the patient and the patient’s husband, did she want to avoid telling them the prognosis and outcome?