Why Dr Ranjana Srivastava tells the whole truth about cancer

Doctors often use euphemisms to dance around the 'C' word. But for oncologist Dr Ranjana Srivastava, how you talk to someone with cancer goes beyond "shadows, lumps and lesions". It's all about compassion and clarity, even when honesty is difficult.

Ranjana Srivastava was a young doctor in regional Australia, accompanying her consultant on his late night rounds when she heard a patient say something that stopped Ranjana in her tracks.

It was in that moment that she finally knew what her speciality was going to be: oncology. 

Ranjana now works in Melbourne as an oncologist and an author.

She often writes about the need for clarity and compassion in doctor-patient conversations, to deliver good news, bad news and everything that falls between.

Ranjana had her own experience of being at the receiving end of devastating news when she was pregnant with twins.

Ranjana has carried the lesson she received from her own doctor forward, into her work as an oncologist, where bearing witness to the attitudes of her patients has changed the way she sees the world and has helped put her own life in perspective.

Further information

Ranjana's latest book, Every Word Matters, is published by Simon & Schuster.

She has published seven books about cancer and end of life care, including A Better Death, Tell Me the Truth, Dying for a Chat, So It's Cancer: Now What, and After Cancer: A Guide to Living Well.

Ranjana also writes a regular column for The Guardian, for which she won the Kennedy Award for Outstanding Columnist of The Year in 2025.

In 2017, Ranjana was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work as an oncologist and in improving doctor-patient communication.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores cancer, oncology, the big C, cancerland, breast cancer, bowel cancer, how to survive cancer, incurable cancer, end of life care, palliative care, honest doctors, refusing treatment, chemotherapy, radiation, how to be honest with patients, doctor patient relationship, geriatric oncology, India, migration, motherhood, late term miscarriage, pregnancy, writing, books, origin story, journalism.

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