Abstract
Terminal cancer patients with severe pain have physical, Psychological, social as well as religious needs. When such needs are not met satisfactorily, the sensation of pain in the patient increases. In order to achieve an accurate knowledge of the psychological state of patients, we conducted two projective tests : the TAT and the SCT to 101 terminal cancer patients with severe pain, ages ranging from 20 to 70 years. The results obtained were considered from the points of sex, age and disease. The main findings obtained are as follows : 1) There were sex differences in cognition of the TAT cards. 2) The TAT cards cognition differed among diseases. 3) The SCT indicated differences in self image, view towards family and value among diseases. 4) There were age differences in response to the SCT but not to the TAT. As seen from the results above, this research has shed some lights on the psychological state of such patients. From these findings, we suggest the extreme importance of understanding the psychological state of terminal cancer patients with severe pain. Such knowledge would provide some guide as to the direction to follow in their approach.
