Effect of prayer on the spiritual health of cancer patients: A review study

Belief in the existence of God and His oversight of all aspects of human life can reduce the level of anxiety in any critical situation. Cancer is one of the most destructive events in life. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an empathetic religious and spiritual approach that can have a significant effect on chronic pain and anxiety disorders and can even be useful in the psychological treatment of cancer patients. Adaptation methods based on religion and spirituality modulate emotions and can help patients manage their anxiety and increase their self-esteem. The aim of this study was to investigate previous studies on the effect of prayer and religious beliefs in the psychosocial care of cancer patients.

In the present review study, the keywords “cancer”, “religion”, “spiritual well-being”, “ethics”, “adaptation”, and “coping” were searched in the SID, Magiran, Iran Medex, and PubMed databases and in the Google Scholar search engine, and 21 articles were included in the study.

The ACT is a new method for the psychological treatment of cancer patients.

It is concluded that religion and prayer give incurable patients hope and strength to fight for their lives, and that this, in addition to medical or surgical interventions, can be considered supportive and palliative care in these cases. However, care must be taken that misinterpretation of the effect of prayer does not lead to neglect follow-up of therapeutic interventions in cancer patients.