Table 1.

Descriptive table of experience of patient-life partner dyad faced with advanced cancer.

References	Aim	Population	Instruments	Data analyses	Results
Opsomer et al. (2019)	To explore how couples cope with nutrition-related issues in advanced cancer	7 couples Patients: -women 57.14% -age 67.6 y -advanced cancer (multisite) Caregivers: -women 42.86% -age: NA	Semi-structured interviews (patient and his or her partner were interviewed concurrently)	Qualitative Analysis Guide of Leuven (QUAGOL)	Overarching coping strategies: to maintain routines and normality in daily life; to create new routines or a new normality. Disclosure of nutrition-related problems: overt communication, presenting the problem the way it appears; overt communication of problem together with its solution or how to deal with it; hiding problem from the partner and disclosing it during the interview; exposing problem because it is too obvious to hide. Couple-coping pathways: practical oriented (action of partner: adapting food; taking over daily tasks; searching for a practical solution; making it easy for the patient) (reaction of the patient: accepting help; not accepting help); emotion oriented (action of partner: emphasizing the severity, confirming empathically, insisting) (reaction of the patient: confirming the words of the partner, toning down the words of partner, contradicting the word of partner); distance oriented (action of partner: withdrawing, not responding) (reaction of partner: coping individually)
Gardner (2008)	To explore patterns of relationships, support and communication in married couples or couples where one partner is diagnosed with advanced and terminal cancer	35 couples Patient: -women 29% -age 66 y -advanced cancer (multisite) Caregiver: -women 71.43% -age 65 y	Semi-structured interviews (each patient and partner caregiver met face-to-face with an interviewer, first together and then for separate interviews)	Grounded theory analytic methods	Individual and dyadic processes: existence of individual and dyadic discourses, where patient and partner respondents moved fluidly and repeatedly between individual and dyadic frames of reference. Living with uncertainty: most common concerns that patients and caregivers described was the struggle to deal with the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding the patient's medical condition and future. Illness and dying trajectories: awareness of death pervaded the responses of study participants and its interrelated themes of uncertainty about the future. Search for shared meanings: despite differences in personal awareness and acceptance about death, some couples seemed to be working toward a shared understanding, narrative, or philosophical approach related to the patient's illness trajectory and ultimate prognosis.
Weißflog et al. (2017)	To evaluate the levels of dyadic coping and supportive care needs and their concurrent associations	330 couples Patients: -women 36.7% -age 57 y -advanced cancer (hematologic) Caregiver: -women 63% -age 56 y	Dyadic coping inventory (DCI) Supportive care needs survey-short form German version (SCNS-SF-34-G)	Actor-partner interdependence models (APIM)	Perception of partners' delegated dyadic coping was higher. Higher perceptions of partners' negative dyadic coping were associated with higher supportive care needs for both patients and partners. Higher perceptions of patients' own stress communication and supportive care need, but only for the patients.
Mah et al. (2020)	To evaluate a moderated mediation model in which perceived couple communication mediates the relationship between attachment security and death preparation in individuals with advanced cancer and in which gender and age moderate these relationships.	Participants -women 55.4% -age 58.10 y	Quality of Life at the End of Life Cancer Scale (QUAL-EC) Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR). Couple Communication Scale Patient Health Questionnaire (longitudinal data: baseline, 3 and 6 months)	Mediation and moderated mediation	Couple communication mediated the relationship of attachment security to preparation for end of life and life completion Anxiety and Gender effects on baseline couple communication: indicated that women with greater attachment anxiety reported worse communication than their male counterparts. Couple-communication, gender and age effects on baseline preparation for end of life: suggested that women showed better preparation with better couple communication. Younger patients reported less preparation than older patients, especially with poorer communication, but their preparation increased with better communication, especially in younger men.
Braun et al. (2012)	To examine associations between caregiving styles and caregivers' and patients' attachment orientations among couples facing advanced cancer.	110 couples Patients: -women NA -age 61.7y Advanced cancer (lung cancer gastrointestinal) Caregivers: -women 76.9% -age 59.8 y	Experiences in Close Relationships inventory (ECR) Caregiving Questionnaire Demand Subscale from the Caregiving Burden Scale	Hierarchical regressions	Caregivers reported high levels of proximate and sensitive caregiving and moderate levels of controlling and compulsive caregiving. Both caregiving proximity and sensitive caregiving were negatively associated with caregivers' avoidant attachment. Controlling caregiving was positively related to caregivers' avoidant and anxious attachment orientations. Compulsive caregiving was positively associated with caregiving demand and caregivers' attachment anxiety. Compulsive caregiving was positively associated with patients' attachment avoidance and negatively associated with patients' attachment anxiety.
Reny (2020a)	To examine how the couple is accompanied when faced with the end of life	Patient: -women: 25% -age: NA -advanced cancer (multisite) Caregiver: -women: 75% -age: NA	Case study		Time-sharing no longer took the same signification. Achievements such as complicity, intimacy, being together were called into question. Complete fusion of couple VS phenomenon of distancing. The roles of each become different. Patients and spouses report actively hiding negative emotions and grief from their counterparts to avoid worry about each other. Talking to each other, understanding each other becomes more complex. The disease breaks a part of illusion: soon the couple will no longer be.
McLean and Jones (2007)	To provide an overview of the impact of cancer on the couple,	End of life cancer	Review		Major depressive syndromes, anxiety, and role adjustment problems: patients and their spouses (increases as death approaches). Similarities in terms of distress response between patients and their spouses. Factors could explain distress: patient's condition (demographic, and psychological factors, social support and resources), level of marital satisfaction, quality of family functioning, difficulties in the ease of couples communicating cancer-related concerns, high conflict, low expressiveness, low cohesion (and the other hand: high levels of support, cohesion, expressiveness, and low conflict, positive emotional environment could help). Secure marital bond: attachment insecurities and behaviors are adequately addressed within the relationship (and the other hand: with insecure marital bond, attachment insecurities and behaviors may be expressed in maladaptive patterns of interaction that maintain separation distress). Attachment and caregiving styles are closely linked: secure attachment is linked to highly responsive care while, insecure attachment is linked to a low level of responsive care. Unresolved issues (with emotions, such as anger, sadness and longing, shame, and fear) in the marital relationship can either pose as a significant threat to the attachment bond, or an opportunity for further growth and development. Patients facing end of life express concerns regarding their spouses and families + the desire to strengthen relationships (these concerns can often exceed disease-related concerns). Patients and spouses may seek increased avoidance, or proximity and closeness to each other.
Drabe et al. (2016)	To gain a deeper understanding about couples' relationship changes over time after one partner is diagnosed with an incurable advanced melanoma.	8 couples	Semi structured interviews (longitudinal data: baseline, 6 months)	Qualitative content analysis	Baseline: relationship changes reported in terms of caring, closeness/distance regulation, and communication patterns. 6 months: relationship changes reported in terms of caring, distance/closeness regulation, greater appreciation of the relationship and limitations in terms of planning. 50% of patients and partners: hiding their negative emotions and sorrows from their counterparts to spare them worry.
Iwasaki et al. (2018)	To discuss the existential questions of patients and their partner facing the end of life	Advanced cancer	Clinical correspondence		Patients are concerned about the future of their family members, especially their spouses. End-of-life discussions often remain practical in nature (pain relief, funeral arrangements, distribution of belongings, etc.). Scaffolding for communication about ”what about you after I'm gone¿‘ can be important. Discussing a spouse's future intimate relationships and happiness could ease deep concern and existential distress in dying patients; it helps the surviving partner to feel less distressed if such opportunity arises Having the agreement or permission of a dying patient may reduce the possible negative consequences associated with a new romantic relationship if it is continued. Such a conversation may reduce existential distress, increase peace of mind and bring the dying patient to a state of relief.
Cort et al. (2004)	To describe the sexual and intimacy needs of the couple when one partner has a terminal illness	Advanced cancer	Chapter of book		The myth of cancer contagiousness and fear of pain can drive the couple away from sexuality. Sexual problems often arise from interpersonal problems to which both partners contribute. Diagnosis of cancer could allow couples to re-examine their relationship and move forward in a positive way (reverse is also true).