The White Lie in Medicine

You are an oncologist treating a patient with terminal cancer who has only a few months to live. The patient is extremely anxious and prone to depression. Telling them the stark truth of their prognosis will likely crush their remaining hope and make their final months miserable. You could, instead, frame the prognosis more optimistically, focusing on a slim-to-none chance of a new treatment working. This 'white lie' would give them hope and a better quality of life in the short term, but it is not the full medical truth.