Final answer:
The patient is in denial if they do not want to accept the truth of what is occurring.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question is medicine, specifically the stages of grief and acceptance when facing a terminal illness. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross identified five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Denial is the stage where the patient does not want to accept the truth of what is occurring and may say, "It can't be happening to me!"