Spirituality And Cancer Care

How Can Spirituality Aid Cancer Patients In Their Journey

Spirituality is an indispensable element of wholesome cancer care and a crucial factor in the way patients with cancer can cope with their illness. This refers to all stages of the disease, from diagnosis through treatment, survival, to recurrence. 

Studies have shown a significant relationship between spirituality and quality of life. Spirituality, in its broadest sense, speaks to the meaning patients find in their lives especially during times of stress, and illness.

One might consider themselves a spiritual person, or not. Either way, cancer can make us ask ourselves such serious questions about the purpose of life or the reasons why this disease has happened to us.  Finding spiritual support can be an important part of cancer care for cancer patients and their loved ones.

Finding meaning in life is a deeply personal process – and having cancer can affect what patients think has meaning in life and how they go about finding it. So cancer may affect our thoughts on spirituality or how we go about practicing and showing our spirituality. 

Everyone’s experience can be different. For some people, spirituality plays no role in their cancer journey at all, and that’s fine.

Can Spirituality Help Us Relieve The Symptoms And Side Effects Of Cancer Therapy

Relieving symptoms and side effects is an essential part of a treatment called palliative care or supportive care. Spiritual support is also one kind of palliative care. It can help with some concerns and questions you and your loved ones have during cancer and treatment.

You can have palliative care, included in your cancer support, at any time during treatment. This involves the time right after the diagnosis or during and after therapy.

Some people prefer to express their spirituality through organized religion. They find this to be a source of comfort and strength. Organized religion, which is usually on specific beliefs and practices, often provides a community of people who meet frequently, share similar experiences and provide support. The structure of beliefs that organized religion provides may help us approach the questions that cancer brings to our life.

Spirituality Or Religion- How Connected Are We?

For some people, spirituality is something totally separate from organized religion. Those people may find faith in nature or in the goodness of others or in the connections between us all. They may meditate or practice rituals from different cultures. They find spiritual value in activities such as journaling, yoga, art, music, or spending time in nature or with loved ones.

Spirituality, as discussed, impacts coping, decision-making, and quality of life. But, spirituality may also be a source or contributor to distress. Spiritual distress also may affect how a person experiences and manifests pain, with a spiritual intervention as effective as a medical intervention in pain management.

Untreated spiritual suffering may worsen the pain of the human experience. For some cancer patients, spiritual suffering may be of a more prominent concern than physical symptoms. Cancer patients report feelings of resentment and diminished self-esteem, which can be spirituality-related 

Hospitals Can Provide Chaplains Or Spiritual Care Advisor

A member of your health care team referred to as a chaplain or spiritual care advisor usually provides spiritual support. Chaplains are trained to talk about the major questions of life, death, and existence in general. They can also help with making a legacy and finding purpose in life. Chaplains work and talk with people from every faith, religion and background, including people with no religious faith.

A large hospital or cancer center often have several chaplains or advisors from different faiths. If you are not comfortable with the first person you talk with, ask your health care team about seeing someone else.

Your chaplain might work closely with a social worker at the hospital or clinic. Social workers help with practical, social, and sometimes emotional issues. These can include finding a ride to the clinic or anxiety over a diagnosis. This type of practical and social help can also ease spiritual pain, such as feeling discouraged or alone.

Spirituality Helps Deal With Uncertainty

If you’d like to talk to someone about spiritual matters, don’t worry if you still have never attended religious services. You don’t need to be sure about what you consider to be the truth. Spiritual care providers are here to help people deal with the uncertainty of life. Their job is to help patients sort through their ideas, doubts, and beliefs to find a sense of peace and inner tranquility.

If you don’t have a spiritual care provider to talk to, you can ask a member of your healthcare team if there is a chaplaincy service conveniently available to you. Hospitals and treatment centers most often have chaplains on staff to help cancer patients and their families with spiritual concerns. While they come from particular faith traditions, they are equipped with knowledge stemming from a tradition that enables them to provide support to people with beliefs different from their own.