Krampus~when my Mom had breast cancer and people found out they'd feel bad for her and tell her they felt bad for her. She stopped telling people because she didn't feel bad for herself so why should others feel bad for her? Granted hers wasn't terminal, but sometimes there are other things the person would rather talk about.

Krampus - When I faced this with a friend last year, he helped by introducing the subject of his cancer and letting me ask questions - he wanted to talk about the whole process of finding out. We talked about the faith healer he spoke to each evening for 15 minutes. We talked about his kids.

On our last visit we swapped opinions about which stores had better prices - as if nothing was different.

From that experience I'd offer to let your uncle lead the conversation. Be prepared to tell him happy tales about your life - where you plan to go on vacation. He might want to hear something other than about his health.

Good luck. I know that it feels uncomfortable.

Act as normal as possible, Do not treat him as an invalid.

Thanks for this Bill. I know it's advice for krampus but I will have it in my mind when we visit DH's BIL. I will have all of my funny dog stories ready.

Dagmar

Omg!
 

I found a flower when I was cleaning up my backyard this afternoon. Can't figure out how to insert a photo here without giving all of you access to my desktop computer but it's burgundy/purple!

Dagmar :D