Death Anxiety in Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Family Caregivers.

CONTEXT: Death anxiety is associated with fears of suffering and uncertainty at the end of life. It is also relevant to patients' family caregivers, who can experience fears about the patients' death and dying. OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the prevalence of death anxiety in advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers and its association with sociodemographic and medical characteristics. METHODS: We recruited patients with UICC stage IV solid tumors from in- and outpatient oncology and palliative care settings. We administered the Death and Dying Distress Scale to assess clinically significant death anxiety. We analyzed its association with sociodemographic and medical characteristics using simultaneous multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Death anxiety was prevalent in 37% of patients (N = 481) and 75% of family caregivers (N = 140). Most frequent death anxiety concerns were "feeling distressed about the impact of one's own death on loved ones" (52% of patients) and "feeling distressed about running out of time with their loved one" (69% of family caregivers). Patients who experienced high death anxiety were more likely to be younger (standardized ß = -0.1; P=0.005) and have known about their diagnosis for less time (standardized ß = -0.1; P=0.046). Being female predicted higher death anxiety in patients (ß = 0.12; P=0.041) and family caregivers (ß = 0.32; P=0.002). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that death anxiety is a common, clinically significant problem in patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers, emphasizing the need for targeted psychological support.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy in serious physical illness: A systematic literature review of approaches and techniques for the treatment of existential distress and mental disorders.

Individuals with life-limiting physical illness experience lower mental health due to existential distress (e.g., demoralization, death anxiety) and mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety). Psychodynamic psychotherapy may be helpful in alleviating such distress by focusing patients' unconscious emotional and relational motivations. There is yet limited knowledge on the application of psychodynamic psychotherapies in this population. We systematically searched electronic databases and analyzed results using meta-ethnography. Of 15,112 identified records, we included 31 qualitative studies applying psychodynamic psychotherapies (n = 69, mean age: 49.3 [SD = 16.9)], 56% female). Psychodynamic treatment in this population can be beneficial when considering modification of the treatment setting to the illness reality, balancing needs for autonomy and separation in light of helplessness and death anxiety, and careful integration of supportive interventions and conflict-oriented interventions (e.g., exploring relational issues that interfere with mourning illness-related loss). We discuss future directions for the development and evaluation of treatments specific to serious physical illness.

[ORPHYS - Treatment Manual for a Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Patients with Serious Physical Illness]. / ORPHYS ­ Behandlungsmanual für eine psychodynamische Kurzzeitpsychotherapie bei schwerer körperlicher Erkrankung.

The diagnosis of a life-threatening illness may lead to a breakdown of psychological processing patterns and a reactualization of existential conflicts. The sudden loss of continuity, physical integrity and social roles can overwhelm patients' ability to cope psychologically. Psychosocial and medical care is likely compromised if patients suffer from affective disorders or symptoms of existential distress. Psychodynamic treatments may strengthen the experience of closeness and connectedness in order to cope with losses and enable farewell processes. ORPHYS describes a short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (12-24 sessions) that aims to address the existential distress of seriously physically ill patients by taking into account relational conflicts at the end of life. The combination of supportive and expressive treatment techniques that focus on patients' subjective experience and illness situation may enable patients to integrate painful affective states and to explore their relationship and coping patterns. ORPHYS can thus facilitate a shared mourning process, in which the intense desire for connectedness at the end of life and the reality of dying can be reconciled.

Existential distress among family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Caregiving for a loved one is challenging and requires significant resources. Existential distress in family caregivers may include hopelessness, demoralization, fear of death, pre-loss grief, or a sense of not being emotionally prepared. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesize the quantitative literature on existential distress among family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer, focusing on its prevalence, association with mental disorders, as well as with sociodemographic, disease, and treatment-related factors. METHODS: We systematically searched electronic databases for quantitative studies of the above-described existential distress concepts in family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. Two independent reviewers extracted data and evaluated study quality. Data were analyzed using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: We retrieved 17.587 records, of which 31 studies fulfilled inclusion criteria. 63% of the studies (n = 20) provided sufficient data for meta-analysis for 5558 patients. We found an overall pooled prevalence of 30.6% for existential distress, 95% CI [24.2-37.0]. For existential distress subconcepts, prevalence rates were 57.0%, 95% CI [37.8-76.2], for death anxiety, 13.9%, 95% CI [10.8-17.0], for demoralization, 24.0%, 95% CI [18.0-30.0], for pre-loss grief, 18.4%, 95% CI [4.0-32.7], for hopelessness, 35.2%, 95% CI [28.2-42.2], for loneliness, and 35.6%, 95% CI [13.0-58.3], for emotional unpreparedness. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one third of the respondents were affected by high levels of existential distress. The review provides evidence for further development of support services that can reduce existential distress, focused on death anxiety, and improve the quality of life for family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.

Demoralisation and its link with depression, psychological adjustment and suicidality among cancer patients: A network psychometrics approach.

BACKGROUND: Demoralisation is a clinically significant problem among cancer patients with a prevalence of 13%-18%. It is defined by difficulty in adjusting to a stressor, wherein the person feels trapped in their predicament and experiences helplessness, hopelessness, loss of confidence and loss of meaning in life. Demoralisation has a strong link with the desire for hastened death and suicidal ideation among the medically ill. This study explored whether a group of symptoms could be identified, distinct from depression, but consistent with adjustment difficulties with demoralisation and linked to ideation of death and suicide. METHODS: Exploratory Graph Analysis, a network psychometrics technique, was conducted on a large German study of 1529 cancer patients. Demoralisation was measured with the Demoralisation Scale II and depressive symptoms with the PHQ-9. RESULTS: A network of symptoms, with four stable communities, was identified: 1. Loss of hope and meaning; 2. Non-specific emotionality; 3. Entrapment; 4. Depressive symptoms. The first three communities were clearly distinct from the PHQ-9 depressive symptoms, except for suicidality and fear of failure. Community 1, Loss of hope and meaning, had the strongest association with thoughts of death and suicide. Hopelessness, loss of role in life, tiredness, pointlessness and feeling trapped were the most central symptoms in the network. CONCLUSIONS: Communities 1 to 3 are consistent with poor coping without anhedonia and other classic depression symptoms, but linked to suicidal ideation. For people facing the existential threat of cancer, this may indicate poor psychological adjustment to the stressors of their illness.

Prevalence of mental disorders in patients with cancer compared to matched controls - secondary analysis of two nationally representative surveys.

AIM: To compare prevalence rates of mental disorders in patients with cancer and general population controls. METHOD: In two stratified nationally representative surveys, the 12-month prevalence of mental disorders was assessed in 2141 patients with cancer and 4883 general population controls by the standardized Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). We determined odds ratios (ORs) to compare the odds for mental disorders (combined and subtypes) in cancer patients with age- and gender-matched controls. RESULTS: The 12-month prevalences rate for any mental disorder was significantly higher in patients with cancer compared to controls (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.14-1.45). Prevalence rates were at least two times higher for unipolar mood disorders (major depression: OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.71-2.51; dysthymia: OR 2.93, 95% CI 2.13-4.02) and mental disorders due to a general medical condition (OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.32-4.71). There was no significant elevation for anxiety disorders overall (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.81-1.11). Mildly elevated prevalence rates emerged for post-traumatic stress disorder (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.11-2.23) and social phobia (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.07-2.31), while specific phobia (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.67-1.00) and agoraphobia (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.33-0.73) were significantly less frequent in cancer. CONCLUSIONS: While elevated depression rates reinforce the need for its systematic diagnosis and treatment, lower prevalences were unexpected given previous evidence. Whether realistic illness-related fears and worries contribute to lower occurrence of anxiety disorders with excessive fears in cancer may be of interest to future research.

Perceived Positive and Negative Life Changes in Testicular Cancer Survivors.

Background and objectives: Despite a generally good prognosis, testicular cancer can be a life-altering event. We explored perceived positive and negative life changes after testicular cancer in terms of frequency, demographic and disease-related predictors, and associations with depression and anxiety. Materials and methods: All testicular cancer survivors receiving follow-up care at two specialized outpatient treatment facilities were approached at follow-up visits or via mail. We assessed a total of N = 164 patients (66% participation rate, mean time since diagnosis: 11.6 years, SD = 7.4) by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI, modified version assessing positive and negative changes for each of 21 items), Patient-Health-Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized-Anxiety-Disorder-Scale-7 (GAD-7). We conducted controlled multivariate regression analyses. Results: Most survivors (87%) reported at least one positive change (mean number: 7.2, SD = 5.0, possible range: 0-21). The most frequent perceived positive changes were greater appreciation of life (62%), changed priorities in life (62%), and ability rely on others (51%). At least one negative change was perceived by 33% (mean number of changes: 1.1, SD = 2.5). Negative changes were most frequent for decreases in self-reliance (14%), personal strength (11%), and ability to express emotions (9%). A higher socioeconomic status was associated with more positive changes (ß = 0.25, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.42); no other association with demographic and disease-related predictors emerged. While positive life changes were not associated with depression (ß = -0.05, 95% CI -0.17 to 0.07) and anxiety (ß = 0.00, 95% CI -0.13 to 0.13), more negative life changes were significantly associated with higher depression (ß = 0.15, 95% CI -0.03 to 0.27) and anxiety (ß = 0.23, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.36). There was no significant interaction of positive and negative changes on depression or anxiety. Conclusions: Although positive life changes after testicular cancer are common, a significant number of survivors perceive negative changes in life domains that have been primarily investigated in terms of personal growth. Early identification of and psychosocial support for patients who perceive predominantly negative changes may contribute to prevention of prolonged symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Cancer-Related Distress: How Often Does It Co-occur With a Mental Disorder? - Results of a Secondary Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The Distress Thermometer (DT) is a validated and widely used screening tool to identify clinically relevant distress in cancer patients. It is unclear, to which extend subjectively perceived distress measured by the DT is related to objective burden (mental disorder). We therefore examine the co-occurrence of a mental disorder for different DT thresholds and explore the diagnostic properties of the DT in detecting a mental disorder. METHODS: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, we included 4,020 patients with mixed cancer diagnoses. After selection of relevant cases, weighting procedure and imputation of missing data we evaluated the data of N = 3,212 patients. We used the DT to assess perceived distress and the standardized Composite International Diagnostic Interview for Oncology (CIDI-O) to assess the 4-week prevalence of mental disorders. The association between distress and any mental disorder (MD) is calculated using Pearson correlations. Relative risks for MD in patients with/without distress and the co-occurrence of distress and MD were calculated with Poisson regression. To assess the operating characteristics between distress and MD, we present the area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: 22.9% of the participants had a cut-off DT level of ≥5 and were affected by MD. Each level of distress co-occurs with MD. The proportion of patients diagnosed with MD was not greater than the proportion of patients without MD until distress levels of DT = 6 were reached. The correlation between DT and MD was r = 0.27. The ROC-analysis shows the area under curve (AUC) = 0.67, which is classified as unsatisfactory. With increasing distress severity, patients are not more likely to have a mental disorder. CONCLUSION: Our results suggests viewing and treating cancer-related distress as a relatively distinct psychological entity. Cancer-related distress may be associated with an increased risk for a mental disorder and vice versa, but the overlap of both concepts is very moderate.

Thoughts of death and suicidality among patients with cancer: Examining subtypes and their association with mental disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Cancer is associated with an increased risk for completed suicide. We explored subtypes of thoughts of death, death wishes, suicidal ideation and behavior and their association with mental disorders and demographic and disease-related characteristics. METHODS: We studied 2,141 cancer patients with the standardized Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Oncology (CIDI-O). Assessment included 4-weeks-prevalences of thoughts of death, wish to die, suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and lifetime suicide attempts. We further assessed 4-weeks-prevalences of mood, anxiety, adjustment, somatoform, substance use, and disorders due to general medical condition. We conducted latent class analyses (LCA). RESULTS: The LCA identified three classes with distinct patterns of suicidality. Class 1 (89.0% of the sample) showed no suicidality. Class 2 (6.9%) was characterized by thoughts of death without suicidal ideation. Class 3 (4.1%) was characterized by thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, and suicide plans. Death wishes occurred in both classes 2 and 3. Classes 2 and 3 were associated with a significantly higher risk for any mental disorder (OR from 4.22, adjustment disorder, to 10.20, mood disorders, p < 0.001) compared to class 1. Patients with mental disorders were equally likely in classes 2 and 3. Patients with incurable cancer were significantly more likely in class 2, and less likely in class 3. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer patients with suicidal ideation are not distinctly characterized by mental disorders. Further study of concepts that consider problematic adjustment to the cancer stressor such as death anxiety and demoralization may contribute to understand psychological distress underlying subtypes of thoughts of death and suicidality in cancer.

Existential distress in patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers: study protocol of a longitudinal cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: At the end of life, patients with advanced cancer and their informal caregivers may confront multiple existential concerns. Despite the strong potential to alleviate existential distress through psychosocial interventions, existential distress and its impact on healthcare outcomes have not yet been studied systematically. We aim to investigate the frequency, longitudinal trajectory and predictive impact of existential distress on end-of-life outcomes. We further aim to determine patients' and caregivers' specific need for and utilisation of psychosocial support for existential distress. METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study will consecutively recruit 500 patients with advanced cancer and 500 caregivers from oncological outpatient and inpatient clinics. Participants will complete self-report questionnaires (sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics, existential distress, end-of-life outcomes, resources and support needs) at five points of assessment (at baseline and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months). At baseline and 6-month follow-up, we will conduct structured diagnostic interviews to assess mental disorders. Statistical analyses will include descriptive statistics to determine the prevalence of existential distress, mental disorders and end-of-life outcomes; multiple linear and logistic regression analyses to calculate the predictive impact of existential distress on end-of-life outcomes; and growth mixture models to analyse longitudinal trajectories of existential distress. DISCUSSION: This study will provide comprehensive knowledge about patients' and caregivers' existential concerns. The longitudinal empirical data will allow for conclusions concerning the frequency and course of existential distress throughout 1 year. This important extension of existing cross-sectional research will contribute to further develop targeted psychosocial interventions. Profiles of existential distress may be applied by clinicians from multiple professions and help to address existential concerns effectively. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study was approved by the institutional research ethics committee (reference number LPEK-0177). Results will be presented at scientific conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. Other forms of dissemination will include sharing results on the psychometric properties of the structured demoralisation interview with international research groups and communication with healthcare professionals providing psychosocial treatment for patients and caregivers. Following scientific standards, our progress will be regularly updated on ClinicalTrials.gov. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04600206.

The role of attachment avoidance: A longitudinal mediation model predicting existential distress in patients with advanced cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Although a protective effect of reliable interpersonal relationships on existential distress has been established, evidence remains inconclusive for attachment insecurity as an underlying factor of persistent psychological distress. We tested a longitudinal model hypothesizing attachment avoidance as a mediator of high demoralization and anxiety over time. METHODS: We studied 206 patients with advanced cancer (mean age = 59.6, 61% female) participating in an intervention trial. Patients completed self-report measures for demoralization, anxiety, perceived relatedness, attachment insecurity, and death anxiety. Our mediated path model included perceived relatedness and death anxiety at baseline as predictors, attachment avoidance at baseline as mediator, and demoralization and anxiety at 6-month follow-up (N = 125) as outcomes. RESULTS: Attachment avoidance partially mediated the relationship between death anxiety and demoralization (ß = 0.07, 95% CI 0.02-0.12) and anxiety (ß = 0.05, 95% CI 0.001-0.10). Findings for perceived relatedness were less conclusive. Its indirect effects through attachment avoidance were significant for both outcomes (demoralization: ß = -0.07, 95% CI -0.13 to -0.02, anxiety: ß = -0.05, 95% CI -0.11 to -0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Due to its trait-like quality, attachment avoidance may play a less central role in explaining the course of existential distress over time than previous research indicated. Addressing change-sensitive relational concerns in psychosocial interventions may be more effective to alleviate existential distress.

Efficacy of the Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) individual psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer: A single-blind randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine whether the Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) therapy is superior to a non-manualized supportive psycho-oncological counselling intervention (SPI). METHODS: Adult patients with advanced cancer and ≥9 points on the PHQ-9 and/or ≥5 points on the DT were randomized to CALM or SPI. We hypothesized that CALM patients would report significantly less depression (primary outcome) on the BDI-II and the PHQ-9 6 months after baseline compared to SPI patients. RESULTS: From 329 eligible patients, 206 participated (61.2% female; age: M = 57.9 [SD = 11.7]; 84.5% UICC IV stage). Of them, 99 were assigned to CALM and 107 to SPI. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed significantly less depressive symptoms at 6 months than at baseline (P < .001 for BDI-II and PHQ-9), but participants in the CALM and SPI group did not differ in depression severity (BDI-II: P = .62, PHQ-9: P = .998). Group differences on secondary outcomes were statistically not significant either. CONCLUSIONS: CALM therapy was associated with reduction in depressive symptoms over time but this improvement was not statistically significant different than that obtained within SPI group.

Perceived relatedness, death acceptance, and demoralization in patients with cancer.

PURPOSE: Close relationships can be strained by losses related to independence, autonomy, and separation after diagnosis of severe illness. The perceived quality of their close relationships affects individuals' psychological adaptation in this context. We explored the level of perceived relatedness and its impact on demoralization and death acceptance. We further examined a possible protective effect of perceived relatedness on the association between tumor stage and death acceptance. METHODS: For this observational study, we consecutively recruited gynecology outpatients and general surgery inpatients at the University Cancer Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and oncological inpatients at the LungenClinic Grosshansdorf, Germany. At baseline, 307 patients (age M = 59.6, 69% female, 69% advanced cancer) participated. At 6- and 12-month (T3) follow-up, 213 and 153 patients responded, respectively. Patients completed self-report questionnaires including a modified version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory assessing perceived relatedness, the Life Attitude Profile-Revised assessing death acceptance, the Demoralization Scale, and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale assessing symptom burden. We calculated multiple linear regression analyses controlling for demographic and disease-related factors. RESULTS: Participants reported a stronger perceived relatedness at baseline (M = 3.04, SE = 0.03, possible range 0-4) than at T3 (M = 2.93, SE = 0.04; p = 0.02). Perceived relatedness significantly predicted lower demoralization at T3 but did not moderate the relationship between tumor stage and demoralization. Apart from male gender, none of the predictor or moderator variables had a significant impact on death acceptance at T3. CONCLUSIONS: The strong impact of perceived relatedness on existential distress emphasizes the importance of strengthening interpersonal relationships within psychosocial interventions.

Frequency and network analysis of depressive symptoms in patients with cancer compared to the general population.

BACKGROUND: The use of sum scores of depressive symptoms has been increasingly criticized and may be particularly problematic in oncological settings. Frameworks analyzing individual symptoms and their interrelationships such as network analysis represent an emerging alternative. METHODS: We aimed to assess frequencies and interrelationships of 9 DSM-5 symptom criteria of major depression reported in the PHQ-9 questionnaire by 4020 patients with cancer and 4020 controls from the general population. We estimated unregularized Gaussian graphical models for both samples and compared network structures as well as predictability and centrality of individual symptoms. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were more frequent, but less strongly intercorrelated in patients with cancer than in the general population. The overall network structure differed significantly between samples (correlation of adjacency matrices: rho=0.73, largest between-group difference in any edge weight: 0.20, p < 0.0001). Post-hoc tests showed significant differences in interrelationships for four symptom pairs. The mean variance of symptoms explained by all other symptoms in the same network was lower among cancer patients than in the general population (29% vs. 43%). LIMITATIONS: Cross-sectional data do not allow for temporal or causal inferences about the directions of associations and results from population-based samples may not apply to clinical psychiatric populations. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with cancer, both somatic and cognitive/affective depression symptoms are less likely to be explained by other depressive symptoms than in the general population. Rather than assuming a consistent depression construct, future research should study individual depressive symptom patterns and their potential causes in patients with cancer.

Spiritual well-being mediates the association between attachment insecurity and psychological distress in advanced cancer patients.

PURPOSE: The diagnosis of a terminal disease bears existential challenges, which activate the attachment system. Attachment insecurity, as well as existential resources, such as spiritual well-being, influences patients' extent of psychological distress. Knowledge about the interrelation of these constructs is limited. Based on current research, we assume spiritual well-being to mediate the association of attachment insecurity and psychological distress. METHODS: We obtained data from the baseline measurement of a randomized controlled trial in advanced cancer patients. Patients were sampled from the University Medical Centers of Hamburg and Leipzig, Germany. Main outcome measures included the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Death and Dying Distress Scale (DADDS), the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp), and the Experience in Close Relationships Scale (ECR-M16) for assessing attachment insecurity. We tested the mediation hypothesis with two regression analyses using bootstrapping procedure. RESULTS: A total of 190 patients were included. Spiritual well-being mediated the association of attachment insecurity and depression (R2 = 11%), as well as death anxiety (R2 = 15%), in fearful-avoidant attached patients. Neither dismissingly nor preoccupied attached patients differ in terms of spiritual well-being and psychological distress in comparison with secure attached patients. CONCLUSION: Spiritual well-being plays a relevant role in advanced cancer patient's mental health through mediating the association of attachment and psychological distress. Developing a better understanding of the interdependency of the constructs of spiritual well-being and attachment can help to develop individually tailored advanced cancer care programs and psychotherapeutic interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02051660.

Characterizing death acceptance among patients with cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Death acceptance may indicate positive adaptation in cancer patients. Little is known about what characterizes patients with different levels of death acceptance or its impact on psychological distress. We aimed to broaden the understanding of death acceptance by exploring associated demographic, medical, and psychological characteristics. METHODS: At baseline, we studied 307 mixed cancer patients attending the University Cancer Center Hamburg and a specialized lung cancer center (age M = 59.6, 69% female, 69% advanced cancer). At 1-year follow-up, 153 patients participated. We assessed death acceptance using the validated Life Attitude Profile-Revised. Patients further completed the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale, the Demoralization Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire. Statistical analyses included multinomial and hierarchical regression analyses. RESULTS: At baseline, mean death acceptance was 4.33 (standard deviation [SD] = 1.3, range 1-7). There was no change to follow-up (P = 0.26). When all variables were entered simultaneously, patients who experienced high death acceptance were more likely to be older (odds ratio [OR] = 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.07), male (OR = 3.59; 95% CI, 1.35-9.56), widowed (OR = 3.24; 95% CI, 1.01-10.41), and diagnosed with stage IV (OR = 2.44; 95% CI, 1.27-4.71). They were less likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer (OR = 0.20; 95% CI, 0.07-0.58), and their death acceptance was lower with every month since diagnosis (OR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-0.99). High death acceptance predicted lower demoralization and anxiety at follow-up but not depression. CONCLUSIONS: High death acceptance was adaptive. It predicted lower existential distress and anxiety after 1 year. Advanced cancer did not preclude death acceptance, supporting the exploration of death-related concerns in psychosocial interventions.

Existential distress in cancer: Alleviating suffering from fundamental loss and change.

A severe life threatening illness can challenge fundamental expectations about security, interrelatedness with others, justness, controllability, certainty, and hope for a long and fruitful life. That distress and suffering but also growth and mastery may arise from confrontation with an existentially threatening stressor is a long-standing idea. But only recently have researchers studied existential distress more rigorously and begun to identify its distinct impact on health care outcomes. Operationalizations of existential distress have included fear of cancer recurrence, death anxiety, demoralization, hopelessness, dignity-related distress, and the desire for hastened death. These focus in varying emphasis on fear of death, concern about autonomy, suffering, or being a burden to others; a sense of profound loneliness, pointlessness or hopelessness; grief, regret, or embitterment about what has been missed in life; and shame if dignity is lost or expectations about coping are not met. We provide an overview of conceptual issues, diagnostic approaches, and treatments to alleviate existential distress. Although the two meta-analyses featured in this special issue indicate the progress that has been made, many questions remain unresolved. We suggest how the field may move forward through defining a threshold for clinically significant existential distress, investigating its comorbidity with other psychiatric conditions, and inquiring into adjustment processes and mechanisms underlying change in existential interventions. We hope that this special issue may inspire progress in this promising area of research to improve recognition and management of a central psychological state in cancer care.

Existential distress and meaning-focused interventions in cancer survivorship.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Cancer can challenge fundamental assumptions about security, controllability and life priorities, which may lead to clinically relevant existential distress. We review recent studies on the prevalence of existential distress in cancer survivors, its distinctness from other distress concepts and interventions to address cancer-specific existential challenges. We further describe psychological mechanisms that may underlie change resulting from such interventions. RECENT FINDINGS: One-third to one-half of cancer survivors experienced existential fears and concerns related to reduced control, identity and uncertainty about the future. Clinically relevant levels of demoralization (a state comprising loss of meaning and a sense of poor coping) were found in one in four to five cancer patients in mixed samples. Existential interventions have shown positive effects in facilitating personal meaning and promoting psychological adaptation. SUMMARY: Existential distress can be understood as a distinct dimension of cancer-related distress requiring attention from healthcare professionals. Psychosocial interventions can facilitate dealing with existential challenges during and while transitioning to longer term survivorship. Such interventions can effectively support survivors to manage uncertainty, link cancer to their life story and engage in meaningful activity despite an uncertain and potentially foreshortened future.