This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Adelbratt, S. Articles by Strang, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Adelbratt, S. Articles by Strang, P. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Death anxiety in brain tumour patients and their spouses

Department of Oncology, Göteborg University, Göteborg

Peter Strang

Palliative Research Unit, Linköping University, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping

When a person is diagnosed with a severe disease, it seems plausible that existential questions and death anxiety are easily intensified. The aims of this study were to explore whether this is the case, to what extent patients and their next of kin experience death anxiety, and how these experiences are expressed. Following a purposive sampling technique, 20 patients with brain tumours and 15 of their next of kin took part in interviews. A content and context analysis were performed using a hermeneutic approach, in order to identify and analyse main categories. Six main categories common to patients and their next of kin emerged during the process: (1) emotional reactions that could be related to death anxiety and included general anxiety, anguish, sadness, hope and despair; (2) existential fear, existential anxiety and existential pain; (3) contradictions; (4) trigger situations; (5) coping strategies related to death anxiety; and (6) new values for life. Besides these categories, a further category emerged, experiences characteristic of the next of kin.

The study shows that both the patients and their next of kin are preoccupied with existential thoughts and death anxiety. The problems are easily overlooked as the death anxiety is not always expressed directly. Staff need to be more aware of these situations in order to provide existential support.

Key Words: anxiety • brain tumour • death • palliative • spouse

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 14, No. 6, 499-507 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/026921600701536426


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S Lundstrom, C. Furst, M Friedrichsen, and P Strang The existential impact of starting corticosteroid treatment as symptom control in advanced metastatic cancer Palliative Medicine, March 1, 2009; 23(2): 165 - 170. [Abstract] [PDF]

				I. James, B. Andershed, and B.-M. Ternestedt A Family's Beliefs About Cancer, Dying, and Death in the End of Life Journal of Family Nursing, May 1, 2007; 13(2): 226 - 252. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. Salander and A. Spetz How do patients and spouses deal with the serious facts of malignant glioma? Palliative Medicine, June 1, 2002; 16(4): 305 - 313. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Strang and P. Strang Spiritual thoughts, coping and 'sense of coherence' in brain tumour patients and their spouses Palliative Medicine, March 1, 2001; 15(2): 127 - 134. [Abstract] [PDF]