Treatment goals: discuss them with the patient.

The goals of treatment should be discussed with the patient, even before assessing the expected benefits and potential harms. Healthcare professionals generally categorise treatments as preventive, curative, symptomatic or palliative. Proponents of evidence-based medicine have formulated more concrete objectives: cure, prevention of recurrences and complications, slowing deterioration, relieving distress, providing comfort, and ensuring comfort and dignity at the end of life. Other objectives may be particularly important for some patients, such as financial, cosmetic and sexual concerns, or the ability to carry out personal projects or leisure activities. It is also advisable to consider the indirect beneficiaries of a given treatment. A combination of these different approaches, discussed with the patient, can help to determine and prioritise the ultimate goals of treatment.