Does spirituality make a difference in how a patient adjusts to breast cancer? According to the following studies, the answer is yes. It does depend, however, on whether spirituality was already part of a patient’s life prior to diagnosis.
Two studies by Yanez, et al. (2009) examined the relationship between spiritual wellbeing and psychological adjustment. In the first study, two components of spirtual wellbeing, meaning/peace and faith, were examined in 418 patients with breast cancer. The study found that the following factors predicted a decline in depressive symptoms and an increase in vitality across 12 months:
