Transitoriness can be defined as confrontation with life's finitude. Cancer patients are perceived to experience this confrontation due to their diagnosis. It is perceived to impact cancer patients' ways of coping with the disease situation. In this study, cancer patients' levels of uncertainty, transitoriness and their perceived locus of control are assessed. It is aimed at exploring the association of uncertainty, locus of control, transitoriness and quality of life. If a stronger correlation of one or the other issue with quality of life can be discovered, it will inform the development of an adequate evidence-based nursing intervention to better support patients' coping with the disease.