Doctors fail to address patients' spiritual needs

My patient, a woman in her 20s with cancer, was doing poorly on chemotherapy. The disease had spread throughout her body. We were doing everything we could to help her, but didn't know how long she would live – probably only a few months, at most. Her mother came regularly to visit, and sat by her side. Around their necks, they both wore gold crosses on tiny gold chains. Taped on the wall, near the foot of her bed, was a greeting card with a picture of Jesus, in a red cloak with pointy gold beams radiating from his head.