Langer leven dan voorspeld

In the Netherlands, patients who have a life expectancy of less than three months may be admitted to a hospice. In a small number of patients, however, their life expectancy is underestimated. It is assumed that patients are delighted to have this extra time. We present the cases of three patients admitted to a large Dutch hospice: two females aged 82 and 83 years, and a 49-year-old man –who ended up living (significantly) longer than expected. Their cases make clear that patients in this situation may suffer from psychological, psychosocial, and existential distress. We argue that it is important that patients and their relatives are informed about their life expectancy, but that uncertainty in the estimation of said expectancy should be emphasized.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.