[Value of inpatient after-care in coping with illness by tumor patients]

In a panel study consisting of two interviews within one year with 100 patients of the Chirurgische Universitätsklinik of Heidelberg it was tried to evaluate the use and the success of impatient aftercare for cancer patients and their coping with disease. The knowledge concerning disease and therapy turned out to be a more important criterion as for the participation in the 'Kur' than severity of disease, age and sex. A high degree of suffering and a relatively stable psyche were prerequisites to productive coping with the disease. The success of coping as well as the success of the treatment at a sanatorium cannot be implicitely objectified. In individual cases rather than with statistical methods, it was possible to identify risk patients who need intensive care. All in all, the 'sanatorium arrangements' gave a high degree of subjective satisfaction. Their positive effects were made evident in a 'sanatorium behaviour', which seems to be characteristic for cancer patients.