Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics (n=977)
| Variable | N | % |
|---|---|---|
| Belief about cure | ||
| Probably incurable | 179 | 18.3 |
| Probably curable | 798 | 81.7 |
|
Education | ||
| <High school | 155 | 15.9 |
| High school or GED | 289 | 29.6 |
| Some college or vocational school | 314 | 32.1 |
| College graduate | 121 | 12.4 |
| >College | 97 | 9.9 |
| DK/refuse/NA | 1 | 0.1 |
|
Annual household income (USS) | ||
| <$20,000 | 284 | 29.1 |
| $20,000–$39,999 | 261 | 26.7 |
| $40,000–$59,999 | 144 | 14.7 |
| ≥$60,000 | 219 | 22.4 |
| Missing | 69 | 7.1 |
|
Insurance | ||
| Insured | 869 | 88.9 |
| Uninsured or receiving Medicaid | 105 | 10.7 |
| Missing | 3 | 0.3 |
|
Age | ||
| <65 | 548 | 56.1 |
| ≥65 | 429 | 43.9 |
|
Gender | ||
| Male | 566 | 57.9 |
| Female | 411 | 42.1 |
|
Race | ||
| White | 659 | 67.5 |
| Black | 139 | 14.2 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 56 | 5.7 |
| Other | 51 | 5.2 |
| Hispanic | 72 | 7.4 |
|
Marital status | ||
| Married or cohabiting | 601 | 61.5 |
| Divorced/separated/widowed | 311 | 31.8 |
| Single/never married | 63 | 6.4 |
| DK/refuse/NA | 2 | 0.2 |
|
Cancer type | ||
| Colorectal | 417 | 42.7 |
| Lung | 560 | 57.3 |
|
Comorbidity | ||
| None | 258 | 26.4 |
| Mild | 310 | 31.7 |
| Moderate | 141 | 14.4 |
| Severe | 113 | 11.6 |
| Missing | 155 | 15.9 |
|
| ||
| Depressive symptoms (mean, SD) | 3.07 | 2.36 |
|
| ||
| Days between diagnosis and baseline survey (mean, SD) | 144.15 | 57.58 |
|
| ||
| Self-reported fatalism (mean, SD) | 10.84 | 2.61 |
|
Open-ended fatalism | ||
| No, perceived survival <5 years | 222 | 22.7 |
| No, perceived survival ≥5 years | 292 | 29.9 |
| Yes, survival is in God’s hands | 108 | 11.1 |
| DK/refuse/NA/missing | 355 | 36.3 |
Note. DK=don’t know; GED=did not complete high school, but passed a series of General Educational Development tests certifying the attainment of high school levels skills; NA=Not Applicable