Will your religion or spirituality matter in times of a lingering and serious illness such as cancer? It turns out that it does.
Moffitt Cancer Center's Heather Jim, PhD, and her colleagues decided to find out the extent of the impact of a belief in God or spirituality especially on cancer patients. For the study, they went back to numerous researches conducted on the same subject. They were then able to consider more than 42,000 patients.
Analyses were then broken down into various aspects such as physical, mental, and social health. In all 3, those who express a strong connection to their God cope better with the disease.
The patients reported they felt less pain and coped with the symptoms and effects of treatments more effectively. They also had the energy to carry out tasks daily. They were more likely to exhibit a more positive or upbeat attitude toward the illness and recovery, as well as feel less stress. There's also a modest connection between faith and the patients' interpersonal relationship.
The effect of the belief, however, can be affected by the degree and even the patient's conviction. Those who exhibited better outcomes were people who had "stronger" faith, including those who understood the meaning and purpose of their lives. In the meantime, those who struggled with their faith registered poorer results.
Dr. Jim noted that more research needs to be done in this field, but perhaps it may be necessary for health services to look into the merit of involving spiritual or religious components in the patients' treatment.
In another study, according to the National Cancer Institute, majority of the U.S. population adhere to a religious belief system. As many as 90% believe in God while around 70% expressed the huge role their spirituality plays in their lives.
Religion too has been helpful not only to the patients but also to their caregivers, especially family members, who also have to deal with the illness albeit in a different way.
