Honesty，my mum always used to tell me，is the best policy.Of course，this didn't include her when she told me that if I didn't eat all my vegetables Father Christmas would find out and wouldn't give me any presents.
But when it comes to medicine，I had assumed it was important to always be honest with my patients.After all，the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust，and therefore honesty is essential. Or so I thought.
I had just started working in geriatrics (老年病科)．Mr.McMahon was brought in when his belly was found very swollen.I took a medical history from his daughter who'd accompanied him in the ambulance.She'd been his main carer for years.I stood looking at him as she gave a detailed history.“Has he lost any weight recently？” I asked，“Well，it's funny you should mention that，but yes，” she said slowly.There was silence for a few moments.“Why? What are you worried about？” she
