Perceived control and survival in advanced lung cancer patients receiving supportive care

Ninety advanced lung cancer patients in a clinical trial were interviewed prior to receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy to assess their beliefs about the possibility that the disease could be reduced if they were able to follow medical treatments and if they wished to be cured. Results show that patients receiving radiotherapy who do not believe that disease reduction would be affected by their own efforts to be cured had less survival (any patient was alive 18 months after diagnosis) than the other patients (20% of patients were still alive 18 months after diagnosis).