Life goals and purpose in life in cancer patients (original) (raw)
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The Relationship of Purpose of Life and hope in shaping happiness among cancer patients in Poland
The authors investigated the relationship of purpose of life, and hope in the happiness and life satisfaction of patients with cancer during or following cancer treatment. Fifty cancer patients were interviewed during recovery in two Warsaw medical centers. The primary measures used were Purpose in Life Test, Herth Hope Index, Happiness and Social Well-Being tools by Czapi ´ nski, and the Cantril Ladder of Satisfaction with Life, as well as medical and demographic measures. Purpose in life was correlated with measures of happiness, and satisfaction with life. Hope was correlated with current happiness, and four measures of satisfaction with life. Patients who had cancer longer, that is, duration of disease, showed lower scores for purpose in life, and number of friends. The longer the time of cancer treatment, the lower were patients’ scores for desire for life. Purpose in life and hope were positively correlated with eleven measures of happiness and satisfaction in life. The cancer variables negatively correlated with loss of friends and six variables of happiness, and satisfaction in life, suggesting the impact that having cancer treatment had on patients’ lives. Psychological support in the cancer center was helpful to patients in and out of treatment. KEYWORDS purpose in life, hope, happiness, satisfaction in life, cancer patients, cancer treatment, duration of disease, social support
Meaning in life of patients with cancer
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate meaning in life and its predictors in Turkish patients with cancer. Methods: A convenience sample of 182 patients with cancer at a Turkish university hospital completed a structured questionnaire including demographic characteristics, disease/ treatment characteristics, symptom level, and the meaning in life scale for patients with cancer in 2007. The researcher visited the oncology clinic five work days in every week and conducted interviews with the patients. In analysis of the data, correlation, t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis variance and regression analysis were used. Results: In this study, the mean score of the total meaning in life showed that the patients tended to be undecided concerning meaning in life. Education level, age, and diagnosis duration of the independent variables were effective predictors of meaning in life. Together the independent variables explained 24.3% of the variance of the purpose subscale, 26.2% of the variance of the coherence subscale, 14% of the variance of the choice/responsibleness subscale, and 44.1% of the total variance of the goal seeking subscale. Overall the independent variables explained 19.8% of the total variance of the total meaning in life. Significance of results: The results in this study should increase the awareness of cancer care professionals about a range of the meaning in life and may help them to target particular patient groups for detail support interventions.
Measuring meaning in life following cancer
Quality of life …, 2006
Meaning in life is a multi-faceted construct that has been conceptualized in diverse ways. It refers broadly to the value and purpose of life, important life goals, and for some, spirituality. We developed a measure of meaning in life derived from this conceptualization and designed to be a synthesis of relevant theoretical and empirical traditions. Two samples, all cancer patients, provided data for scale development and psychometric study. From exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses the Meaning in Life Scale (MiLS) emerged, and includes four aspects: Harmony and Peace, Life Perspective, Purpose and Goals, Confusion and Lessened Meaning, and Benefits of Spirituality. Supporting data for reliability (internal consistency, test–retest) and construct validity (convergent, discriminant, individual differences) are provided. The MiLS offers a theoretically based and psychometrically sound assessment of meaning in life suitable for use with cancer patients.
The concept and measurement of meaning in life in Dutch cancer patients
Psycho-Oncology, 2007
We investigated the psychometric properties of a Dutch translation of the Personal Meaning Profile in a heterogeneous group of cancer patients. Our study resulted in a relatively short scale consisting of 39 of the 57 original items, divided into 5 factors, labeled 'relation with God'; 'dedication to life'; 'fairness of life'; 'goal-orientedness' and 'relations with other people', which can be summed to a total score of the experience of meaning in life. The internal consistency of the total scale as well as of its sub dimensions was high. The experience of meaning in life was positively related to feelings of psychological well-being and negatively to feelings of distress. Furthermore, the experience of meaning in life was also related to trait-like characteristics as personality. Future research can investigate its appropriateness for other populations than cancer patients, and if and how the experience of meaning in life eventually changes as a result of existential threats.
Supportive Care in Cancer, 2011
Goal of work While significance of the concept of meaning in understanding adaptation to cancer is widely accepted, it has been little studied, especially in longitudinal data. This study aims to clarify the role of global meaning and meaning-related life attitudes (death acceptance and goal seeking) in predicting different aspects of psychological and existential distress by reference to a specified research model. Patients and methods At baseline (T1), a sample of 270 cancer patients was recruited. Data from 178 patients could be obtained after 3 months at T2. Patients completed the Life-Attitude-Profile—Revised assessing global meaning and meaning-related life attitudes, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Demoralization Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses were carried out in two steps. Sociodemographic and physical factors were controlled. Results Global meaning emerged as a significant negative predictor of depression (β = −0.27) (p ≤ 0.001) and demoralization (β = −0.27) (p ≤ 0.001). Death acceptance was a predictor of anxiety only (β = −0.21) (p ≤ 0.003), whereas goal seeking was a positive predictor of depression (β = 0.29) (p ≤ 0.001), anxiety (β = 0.36) (p ≤ 0.001), and demoralization (β = 0.35) (p ≤ 0.001). Discussion Findings confirm a global sense of meaning as an important protecting factor regarding the development of distress symptoms. Results suggest that different dimensions of meaning contribute to different dimensions of psychological well-being, as they refer to different existential problems. The need for and relevance of meaning-focused interventions in cancer patients is strengthened.
Meaning of Life in Cancer Patients Associated with Demographic and Clinical Characteristics
West Indian Medical Journal, 2017
The aim of this study was to examine the meaning of life in cancer patients and its association with clinical and demographic characteristics. Methods: This cross-sectional study comprised 150 patients who were referred to the department of oncology and radiotherapy centre of 5-Azar teaching Hospital (Gorgan). All eligible patients were seen during five months in 2013. Data were collected by use of MiLs questionnaire (Meaning in Life Scale). The instrument consists of four domain: harmony and peace, life perspective, confusion and lessened meaning and benefits of spirituality, which contain of 21 questions. Total Meaning scores range between-3 to 17, the higher points, represent the favourable meaning of life (more positive view about life). The reliability coefficient Cronbach's alpha (0.87) was calculated. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (Spss) software (version 18) was used for analysis and independent t-test and the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied. The significance level for this test was considered 0.05. Results: The mean age of patients was 48.31 ± 5.1 years. A total of 47.3 per cent of patients were males. Fifty-two per cent were urban residents, 34 per cent of those illiterate and 78.7 per cent of participants were married. Average score of meaning of life was 7.18 ± 1.99 from 17 scores. Marital status (p < 0.029), type of treatment regimen (p < 0.012), number of children (p < 0.018) and place of residence (p < 0.046) are statistically, meaning significant full relationship with total score of meaning of life. Conclusion: Meaning of life of all participating in study was relatively good, which may be caused by the Islamic culture, so rich in concepts of meaning of life in all areas of life (health and disease).
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2018
44 Background: Several studies have demonstrated discordance between how patients perceive their goal of treatment versus how they perceive their oncologist’s goal. Studies evaluating the extent and risk factors of this discordance are lacking. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 559 patients with incurable lung, gastrointestinal, breast, and brain cancers. We used the Perception of Treatment and Prognosis Questionnaire to assess patients’ perceptions of both their treatment goal and their oncologist’s goal and categorized responses: 1) patients who reported that both their goal and their oncologist’s goal was concordant (either to cure or not to cure); and 2) patients who reported discordant perceptions of their goal versus their oncologist’s goal. We assessed patients’ psychological distress using the Hospital-Anxiety-and-Depression-Scale and used linear regression to assess the relationship between patients’ perceptions of their treatment goal and psychological outco...