to shorter or longer survival than was expected. Instead,

these characteristics seem to be related to the degree of

physical illness. This notion has been suggested by Sherman

(1983) who asserted that much that is labeled depression in

the cancer population may really reflect the physical

condition. Another perspective of this relationship is

provided by Davies et al. (1973), who reported that high

scores on the constellation "apathetic-given-up" correlated

strongly ( p < .05) with both survival time and with a

greater illness disability as measured by the Karnofsky

Performance Scale. These authors also collected information

on the subjects' position in time relative to diagnosis and

death, but the relationships between these values and the

psychiatric factors studied was apparently not included in

the correlation analysis.


 Conclusions

Determining Survival Expectations

 Several conclusions are drawn regarding the determina-

tion of survival expectations for cancer patients. They are

related to the use of regression analysis to predict sur-

vival from biological, medical, and disease variables, the

importance of the measurement of variables with predictive

power, and the use of the survival quotient as a value of

relative survival. The conclusions are as follows: