When the reality of death strikes: Ways of dealing with existential fears in cancer patients.

In the present study existential fears and concerns in cancer patients were explored with respect to coping behavior and measures of subjective well-being. Thereby, cancer-related existential fears were assessed by means of a newly developed six-item scale. The study sample consisted of 126 patients undergoing ambulant treatment for different types of cancer. Data were collected at the University of Luxembourg, in cooperation with several medical centers and cancer foundations in Luxembourg, Germany and France. Results highlighted the importance of existential fears in cancer patients. Cluster analyses resulted in a two clustersolution, regrouping patients ‘‘high’’ and ‘‘low’’ levels of existential fears. Analyses of variance indicated that the cluster displaying high levels of existential fears showed significantly higher levels of ‘‘rumination’’ than the other cluster, associated with increased levels of ‘‘hopelessness’’ and lower ‘‘self-esteem’’. Results are discussed with respect to intervention programs focusing on the regulation of anxiety in cancer patients

Is outcome from ARDS related to the severity of respiratory failure?

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe