Khan, Luluel, Wong, Rebecca, Li, Madeline, Zimmermann, Camilla, Lo, Chris, Gagliese, Lucia, and Rodin, Gary (2010) Maintaining the Will to Live of Patients With Advanced Cancer. The Cancer Journal, 16 (5). pp. 524-531.

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Abstract

The will to live is a natural instinct experienced by all human beings. It tends to persist in humans, despite marked adversity such as that associated with advanced cancer. The will to live may be measured directly, or indirectly, by assessing the desire for hastened death. Factors that may affect it include age, life stage, and physical and psychological distress. In particular, states of depression and hopelessness may precede the loss of the will to live. Other psychosocial variables that may affect the will to live include physical suffering, attachment security, self-esteem, and spiritual well-being. A number of screening tools are available to identify risk factors for the loss of the will to live. Awareness of these factors can guide interventions to preserve morale and maintain hope in patients faced with a terminal illness. Critical among these are the alleviation of physical and psychosocial distress and the establishment of a therapeutic alliance that is sensitive to the specific support needs of individual patients. Comfort and facility with such supportive interventions in oncology will require greater attention to the development of communication and relationship skills at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels of training.

Item ID:	86505
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1540-336X
Copyright Information:	© 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Date Deposited:	05 Aug 2025 22:48
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4203 Health services and systems > 420316 Palliative care @ 50% 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520399 Clinical and health psychology not elsewhere classified @ 50%
SEO Codes:	28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280121 Expanding knowledge in psychology @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200499 Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified @ 50%
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