Based on a nationwide psychological autopsy study of all 1397 suicides in Finland during one year, 60 victims who had suffered from cancer were compared with the others. Victims with cancer were significantly older & more often male which required adjusting the control group for age & gender. Victims with cancer had more pain & were more often physically disabled. The social network of cancer patients was stronger. Background factors of the suicide process of the cancer patients with terminal illness were different from those with cancer in remission & from victims among the general population. The frequency of physical symptoms & depression before suicide in cancer patients emphasizes the need for more competent palliative care & psychological support. (37 refs.)