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them to "make the most of the limited time left." Parents vividly remembered the doctor's response to their distress. The doctor's ability to accept and understand the parents' grief was important in establishing trust and shaping the future relationship. Feelings of anger, guilt, and sadness are well known to be part of the process of grieving, which may begin at the time of diagnosis when the fatal nature of the illness is confirmed."' Parents may need help to work through their anger and sadness during this long and necessary grieving process. Schoenberg pointed out that "health professionals place great emphasis on the preservation of life and in general view the patient's death as a personal failure." And yet the physician is required to be "honest, consistent, supportive and sympathetic while maintaining the qualities of equanimity and imperturbability."', The results of our study confirm that when the doctor showed these qualities when imparting the diagnosis of a life threatening illness it in fact sustained and supported the parents despite their deep distress, and the beneficial effects persisted, in some cases for many years.