The final illness in cancer: the widow's perspective.

Widows of cancer patients were compared with other widows in general and with widows of men with chronic cardiovascular disease in particular, special attention being given to the vicissitudes of the final illness. Despite the recent emphasis on the need for open communication about the impending death between the dying patient and his family, interviews with 73 women whose husbands had died of cancer revealed that 40% of those who had been told their husband was dying refused to accept the warning. Only 29% of the couples openly discussed the possibility of the husband dying of his disease. More than half of those who did not talk with their husband about the impending death reported that this made no difference to their initial adjustment to bereavement. The stress for a woman of her husband's final illness leads to an especially difficult bereavement period; for example, significantly more widows of cancer patients than of patients with other illnesses perceived themselves to be in poor health during the initial bereavement period. Some of the problems specific to cancer patients and their families are described, along with recommendations for their alleviation.