Table 1 Demographic and disease characteristics of patients (n=155)
Variable | Mean (range) |
|---|---|
Age (years) | 55.9 (22–82) |
Length of illness (months) | 13 (0–264) |
Gender | (%) |
 Female | 45 |
 Male | 55 |
Education level | |
 Below year 10 | 30.7 |
 Year 10/school certificate | 30.1 |
 Year 12/high school certificate | 10.5 |
 Tertiary non-university |  9.8 |
 University | 19.0 |
Marital status | |
 Married or de facto | 68.6 |
 Single | 13.7 |
 Divorced or separated |  9.8 |
 Widowed |  7.8 |
Type of cancer | |
 Breast | 21.0 |
 Colorectal | 18.2 |
 Melanoma | 15.4 |
 Prostate | 14.0 |
 Lymphoma | 9.0 |
 Other | 22.4 |
Stage of cancer | |
 Local | 56.7 |
 Metastasis | 43.3 |
Estimated prognosis | |
 Weeks to months | 32.6 |
 Years | 51.8 |
 Normal life expectancy | 15.6 |
