Table 1.
Characteristics of the Study Sample (n = 69)
| Age, years, M (SD) | 60.7 (11.9) |
| Male, n (%) | 37 (54) |
| Married, n (%)a | 40 (58) |
| Nonwhite race, n (%) | 12 (17) |
| Education, years, M (SD) | 15.3 (3.4) |
| Income, greater than $50,000, n (%)b | 32 (46) |
| Karnofsky performance status, M (SD)c | 68.2 (19.7) |
| Cancer Type | |
| Lung, n (%) | 23 (33) |
| Prostate, n (%) | 5 (7) |
| Breast, n (%) | 11 (16) |
| Colorectal, n (%) | 6 (9) |
| Heme/Lymphoma, n (%) | 11 (16) |
| Ovary, n (%) | 1 (1) |
| Other, n (%) | 12 (17) |
| Overall McGill Quality of Life (QOL), M (SD)d | 104.9 (25.1) |
| Physical QOL, M (SD)d | 10.07 (4.1) |
| Psychological QOL, M (SD)d | 28.72 (9.6) |
| Existential QOL, M (SD)d | 42.97 (11.4) |
| Support QOL, M (SD)d | 16.82 (3.5) |
| Religious Tradition | |
| Catholic, n (%) | 32 (46) |
| Protestante, n (%) | 22 (32) |
| Jewish, n (%) | 5 (7) |
| Other, n (%)f | 10 (15) |
| Religiousness | |
| Very religious, n (%) | 14 (20) |
| Moderately religious, n (%) | 25 (36) |
| Slightly religious, n (%) | 17 (25) |
| Not at all religious, n (%) | 13 (19) |
| Spirituality | |
| Very spiritual, n (%) | 26 (38) |
| Moderately spiritual, n (%) | 24 (35) |
| Slightly spiritual, n (%) | 14 (20) |
| Not at all spiritual, n (%) | 5 (7) |
| Frequency of organized religious activity | |
| At least once a month, n (%) | 25 (36) |
Married patients include only patients who are currently married and excludes patients who are divorced or widowed.
Three patients (4%) refused to answer information about their income and 2 patients (3%) did not know their income.
A measure of functional status that is predictive of survival, where 0 is dead and 100 is perfect health. A score of 70 is “caring for self, not capable of performing normal activity or work.”
A validated measure of quality of life with 4 domains: physical well-being, psychological, existential, and social support. Overall McGill quality of life possible scores 0 to 160. Physical QOL possible scores 0 to 20, psychological QOL possible scores 0 to 40, existential QOL possible scores 0 to 60, and support QOL possible scores 0 to 20. The overall QOL includes additional items that are not included in any of the 4 listed subdomains.
Protestant includes all other non-Catholic Christian denominations.
Of the patients with other religious traditions, 1 (1%) was Muslim, 3 (4%) were Buddhist, 2 (3%) professed no religious tradition, and 4 (6%) responded “other.”
M, mean; SD, standard deviation.