experience of an oral cancer patient who was facing the distress of painful, psychosocial and spiritual suffering. The nursing process was from September 22nd, 2005 to January 10th, 2006. The author applied Gordon 11-item functional health pattern for nursing assessment to evaluate the patient’s health problems. The patient's health problems revealed were: (1)physical painful/ edema and symptoms related to compression; (2)psychosocial: anxiety/ fear of death; (3)spiritual: spiritual suffering/ facing death. Through the caring period, we provided appropriate care to relief the patient’s pain and to help the patient and his families to cope with the fear of death.