The unofficial beginning of Psycho- oncology dates back to the hiring of Dr Jimmie Holland at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 1976.This paper will focus on the evolution of the psychological treatment of cancer patients facing death, from the perspective of a psychoanalyst who was a member of that founding group of mental health professionals that worked with Jimmie 35 years ago. I will emphasize the importance of the fear of death and its avoidance by oncologists, patients, psychiatrists and psychoanalysts.