Breaking bad news and serious-illness communication — branching viva

Opening (candidate)

I would treat this as a SPIKES conversation, not a result handover. First I would prepare: a private room, a trained interpreter, the right people including the child's nurse and, where possible, the treating surgeon or oncologist, and enough uninterrupted time. Then I would assess what the family already understands and how much they want to hear before sharing the diagnosis, responding to emotion with NURSE, and arranging follow-up. ^{[1] [3]}