Table 1.
Patient Characteristics (N = 30)
| Variable | n (%) |
|---|---|
| Age in years (Mean ± SD) | 64.3 ± 13.2 |
| Female | 19 (63.3) |
| Race | |
| Black/African American | 2 (6.7) |
| White | 24 (80.0) |
| Other | 4 (13.3) |
| Hispanic or Latino ethnicity | 3 (10.0) |
| Highest education | |
| ≥ Bachelors | 8 (26.7) |
| High school/some college | 18 (60.0) |
| ≤ High school | 4 (13.3) |
| Financial security | |
| Secure | 15 (51.7) |
| Partially secure | 13 (44.8) |
| Insecure | 1 (3.5) |
| Cancer type | |
| Lung | 2 (6.7) |
| Gastrointestinal (non-CRC) | 4 (13.3) |
| CRC/breast/prostate | 9 (30.0) |
| Other | 15 (50.0) |
| Palliative Performance Scale (Mean ± SD) | 4.9 (2.1) |
| Clinicians’ estimate of survival time | |
| < 2 weeks | 4 (13.3) |
| 2 weeks to < 3 months | 10 (33.3) |
| ≥ 3 months | 16 (53.3) |
| Days from enrollment to death (Median (Range)) | 14 (0–157) |
| Quality of Lifea (Mean ± SD) | 4.4 ± 2.8 |
| Any religious affiliation | 22 (73.3) |
| Christianity | 18 (60.0) |
| Buddhism | 1 (3.3) |
| Islam | 3 (10.0) |
| At peace | |
| Completely | 3 (10.3) |
| Quite a bit | 5 (17.2) |
| Moderately | 14 (48.3) |
| Slightly | 1 (3.5) |
| Not at all | 6 (20.7) |
Note: CRC = colorectal cancer;
a
Quality of life was assessed using the McGill Quality of Life Global item, asking, “Considering all parts of your life – physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and financial – over the past two days, how would you rate the quality of your life?” (using a 0–10 scale from “Very bad” to “Excellent”) [47, 48].