Hope and illness expectations: A cross-sectional study in patients with advanced cancer

Background: The fear of taking away hope hinders clinicians’ willingness to share serious news with patients with advanced disease. Unrealistic illness expectations, on the other hand, can complicate decision making and end-of-life care outcomes. Exploration of the association between hope and illness expectations can support clinicians in better communication with their patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore whether realistic illness expectations are associated with reduced hope in people with advanced cancer. Design: This is a cross-sectional secondary analysis of baseline data from a primary palliative care cluster-randomized trial CONNECT (data collected from July 2016 to October 2020). Hope was measured by Herth Hope Index. Illness expectations were measured by assessing patients’ understanding of their treatment goals, life expectancy, and terminal illness acknowledgement. Multivariable regression was performed, adjusting for demographical and clinical confounders. Setting/participants: Adult patients with advanced solid cancers recruited across 17 oncology clinics. Results: Data from 672 patients were included in the study, with mean age of 69.3 years (±10.2), 53.6% were female. Proportion of patients indicating realistic expectations varied based on which question was asked from 10% to 46%. Median level of hope was 39 (IQR = 36–43). Multivariate non-inferiority regression did not find any significant differences in hope between patients with more and less realistic illness expectations. Conclusions: Our results suggest that hope can be sustained while holding both realistic and unrealistic illness expectations. Communication about serious news should focus on clarifying the expectations as well as supporting people’s hopes.