No abstract

Research objectives. Analyze responses to the questions ''What is your understanding of your illness?'' and ''What has your doctor told you about the future course of your illness?'' among advanced cancer and non-cancer patients.Method. Qualitative analysis of 210 patients' responses to queries of illness understanding. Responses were recorded at the baseline interview of a larger, longitudinal study of patients with advanced life-limiting illness. After coding emergent themes, investigators conducted pattern analysis to examine variation associated with diagnosis and demographics.