Part of the treatment of terminally ill cancer patients must be an optimization of end-of-life care to ensure that this stage is pain free and as emotionally and physically satisfying as possible. The Coping With Cancer study was set up to assess patient quality of life in the last week of life. This multicentre prospective, longitudinal study followed 396 patients with advanced-stage cancer at the end of their lives and assessed their quality of life (QoL) as well as other parameters thought to affect it. The avoidance of hospitalization or admission to an intensive care unit was associated with improved QoL. In addition, patients who are less worried, who pray or meditate and who are visited by a pastor in the hospital or clinic have a better QoL. In terms of treatment, patients who feel a therapeutic alliance with their physicians also report an improved QoL. However, in most cases it was not possible to identify the reasons for the variance in quality of life at this stage in the disease course.