Dressed as a radiologist behind her desk, Nina C. pointed to her computer screen and explained: "There's a lump. What concerns me a bit is that it's characteristic of something nasty. And unfortunately, some cells have migrated into the liver." "Is it bad?" asked the woman facing him, worried. "Yes, it's bad," confirmed Nina, who knows exactly what metastasized pancreatic cancer means. End of scene. The patient was an actress, and the "radiologist," a sixth-year medical student, was taking part in a half-day theater workshop to introduce future healthcare providers to announcing cancer diagnoses, in partnership with the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Art Dramatique of Montpellier. She was given 15 minutes to prepare, using a randomly selected scenario.

"There were quite a few good things, but you have to avoid some words, like bad, nasty, unfortunately," stressed Marc Ychou, a professor of digestive oncology. "You can say, for example, that 'it's serious'." The theater enthusiast, who organized the workshop at the Montpellier-Nîmes medical school (southern France), added to the other students present that day: "The medical information given suggests that the patient is doomed. Be careful, it's a first appointment, so you mustn't say too much." He emphasized that during a consultation, patients are particularly sensitive to the health professional's demeanor. As this appointment will change their lives, many of them find themselves in a state of shock.

According to the survey "Facing Cancer: the ordeal of the treatment journey", carried out by French non-profit La Ligue Contre le Cancer in 2018, the diagnosis announcement is the "most difficult moment to cope with" in the treatment journey for a third of those surveyed. They highlighted "a lack of listening by healthcare professionals," who focus their information on the medical aspects of cancer, to the detriment of other components of patients' lives.

Alongside Professor Ychou was director Serge Ouaknine – 80, although he looks 10 years younger – who has several relatives who are doctors or have been affected by cancer. The two have known each other for some 20 years. When he was younger, Ychou took drama classes at the Conservatory. "Theater has taught me a great deal about how to manage my relationship with patients and their families, and how to empathize with them while maintaining a clinical distance. Serge and I decided that doctors needed to be trained in the non-verbal aspects of announcing a diagnosis."

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