ABSTRACT
This chapter considers all the patient's symptoms and all the information available to doctors and assesses the symptoms, signs and information given using this to choose the appropriate remedies for the problem, and offers extra information where available and appropriate. Collusion is basically an agreement between two parties not to communicate with a third party. In this context, collusion may be between the healthcare professionals and the patient not to inform the family, or between the healthcare professionals and the relatives not to tell the patient something that it is deemed best they should not know. It may be the role of professionals to gently and sensitively dismantle collusion. Honesty is essential, and health professionals need to encourage both the patient and the family to express their feelings, and facilitate more open communication for all. Collusion is probably the most common communication problem encountered after the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease.
