Table 2 Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

   • deceased last resident in one of the four PCTs in study, as recorded in the death registration;

   • date of registration of death within four to ten months before invitation letters for participation are sent out;

   • deceased aged 18 and over at time of death;

   • cancer (ICD-10 codes C00-D48) recorded as "underlying cause of death" or in the lowest completed cause of death line in the death certificate.

Exclusion criteria

   • death registered by a coroner;

   • place of death other than an NHS hospital, the deceased's own home, a hospice or a nursing home;

   • place of death unknown.