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Abstract
We examined cancer patients' actual and imagined interactions with health care professionals. Imagined interactions were defined as cognitive representations of conversation experienced as internal dialogues with significant others. The results of a survey of 48 cancer patients indicate that communication satisfaction is associated with amount of information about the disease, whereas fear reduction is associated with amount of communication about one's illness. The pleasantness of imagined interactions, their catharsis function, and imagining the self free of cancer were intercorrelated. The frequency and cathartic function of imagined interaction were correlated with actual communication and fear reduction.
