"I want to live, but …" the desire to live and its physical, psychological, spiritual, and social factors among advanced cancer patients: evidence from the APPROACH study in India.

Background: The limited access to palliative care resources along with the social stigma around cancer largely explains the poor quality of life (QoL) of Indian advanced cancer patients. As advanced cancer patients with poor QoL often harbour a desire for hastened death (DHD), it is imperative to understand factors affecting DHD, or the desire to live (DTL) among advanced cancer patients in India. We aim to examine the relationship between DTL and physical, psychological, spiritual, and social factors measuring patients' QoL alongside their awareness of their late cancer stage.