title: The phantom of death improving quality of life: you live until you die.
abstract: The purpose of this study was, using secondary analysis on data collected from previous empirical studies, to focus on improving the quality of life due to the new possibilities for living after a cancer diagnosis. No matter how long or short the life will be, quality of life in palliative care is about "living in the best way" until death. The data analysis identified 4 main themes; death as a main concern, reevaluating life, living a normal life with support, and living until death. The key message is that the patients are living until they die. Palliative care should facilitate and support the patients in their new life situation in order to sustain their quality of life. They are still alive--living until death.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Rio de Janeiro State University, Brazil.
authors.forename: Octavio Muniz da Costa
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Vargens
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berterö
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D011788:Quality of Life