Dying and relational aftermath concerns among terminal cancer patients in China.

The need to make sense of one's mortality is of central concern for death studies. We aimed to explore the meaning of aftermath concerns in the process of preparing for death. Using a qualitative approach, we explored aftermath concerns among 25 participants with terminal cancer in China. Three aftermath concern themes were developed from the participants' narratives: mental concerns about parents, material concerns about children, and spiritual concerns about the self. Aftermath concerns are relational because they are not about what happens within an individual, but between individuals which are manifested within the broader cultural, social, economic, and political contexts.