The purpose was to study expectations concerning recovery-related changes in life, e.g. beliefs regarding future adjustment back to 'normal' life after curative cancer treatment, whether these expectations were met and their importance for both patients' and their spouses' quality of life and psychological distress. Sixty-two patients and 42 spouses took part in the study. Data on recovery-related expectations, measured using a study-specific questionnaire (RRE), on quality of life using EORTC-QLQ C-30 and on psychological distress using HADS, were collected directly after completion of treatment, four and 16 months later. Optimism was measured using LOT at the last follow-up. The results demonstrate that patients generally had higher recovery-related expectations than did their spouses, and their expectations were also fulfilled to a lesser degree at both follow-ups. However, the expectations, or whether these were met, were generally not associated with their quality of life or psychological distress. The few associations that were made indicated that fulfilled expectations meant higher quality of life and/or less distress. The participants' optimism was associated with both their quality of life and psychological distress. It is concluded that optimism influenced the participants' quality of life and psychological distress to a higher degree than did their recovery-related expectations.