A patient with inoperable lung cancer is planning a trip to settle unfinished business with family. Which psychosocial response best describes this behavior?

• A. Protesting the unfairness of death
• B. Anxiety about unfinished business
• C. Fear of having lived a meaningless life
• D. Restlessness about the uncertainty of prognosis

Answer: (B)

A key psychosocial response as death nears is the drive to achieve closure by resolving unfinished business with loved ones. When a patient with a terminal illness plans a trip to settle affairs with family, it shows an active attempt to bring personal matters to a peaceful close and reduce the burden of what will be left unsaid. This behavior reflects anxiety about unfinished business—an attempt to manage that worry by taking concrete steps now.

Protesting the unfairness of death would be more about anger and injustice rather than addressing personal loose ends. Fear of having lived a meaningless life centers on existential dread without necessarily prompting concrete action to resolve specific matters. Restlessness about the prognosis relates to uncertainty about disease trajectory, not specifically to tying up personal affairs with family.