>it is not responsible to announce such a dark diagnosis without certainty
I think that's the crux of the discussion here. For many of us, we're going to find out it's a possibility anyway, so what's the point of the doctor not acknowledging it? Actively witholding information just adds to the anxiety. Not asking for an early diagnosis, just a frank discussion about the possibilities.
Disclaimer, these are only hypotheses out of my own experience, and this seems to be extremely dependent on the doctor.
That's not an easy announcement to make, and without certitude you don't feel compelled to make it, so maybe a bit of easy way out ?
Cancer raises many questions (or so I guess), which takes a lot of time to clear out, for something only hypothetical so far (plus some people are really bad at understanding). Certitude will come a few weeks later and by then you will need to go through hour long appointments to discuss everything again. So lack of time.
Maybe it's wrong, I don't know, I just think it's not an easy question and there's no definite answer.
I think that's the crux of the discussion here. For many of us, we're going to find out it's a possibility anyway, so what's the point of the doctor not acknowledging it? Actively witholding information just adds to the anxiety. Not asking for an early diagnosis, just a frank discussion about the possibilities.