An op-ed in the Boston Globe:

And yet Elizabeth Edwards said at a news conference, “I don’t expect my life to be significantly different.” She calls herself “incredibly optimistic.” About his press secretary Tony Snow, President Bush said, “He is not going to let this whip him, and he’s upbeat.”

Of course all people need hope: hope for a good day today, hope for a normal life, and possibly hope for a cure. But that brings us to a painful and necessary question: Is there such a thing as false hope?

As a physician, I’ve watched more than my fair share of innocent children and adults die from cancer, often badly. It’s hard to maintain optimism after that. Part of me wants to hear that not every moment with cancer can be handled with understated grace; sometimes, a primal scream would be more honest. It seems disingenuous to pretend otherwise.