Meditation, yoga, religious and spiritual belief are proved to have positive effects on cancer patients' social, mental, and physical well-being, according to a new study published in health journal Cancer.
The research method was a meta-analysis of previously published studies, including data on more than 44,000 patients. The findings of the study show that patients with high levels of self-reported spiritual belief had fewer symptoms of cancer and less side effects of the treatment. Patients' spiritual well-being was associated with fewer occurrences of depression and less anxiety. It seems that a belief in a personal and benign God can be correlated with better levels of social health.
Researcher John Salsman, an associate professor of health policy and social sciences at Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, declared that the opposite is also held true, since high spiritual or religious "distress" could be associated "with poorer perceptions of health."
Salsman thinks that health care provided need to be attuned to religious and spiritual believes in patients with cancer. Negative aspects of spiritual or religious beliefs might include feeling a "disconnectedness with God" or "struggling on an existential level". He added that doctors should better be able to assess their patients for spiritual distress and provide them with supportive care resources.
Salsman explained that the study raises a crucial question about the extent at which the medical providers should facilitate "spiritual interventions" in cancer treatment. However, the study did not show a direct causality between spirituality and the well-being in cancer patients, according to Salsman, since outside factors may have affected the results.
For example, people with higher self-reported spirituality have been shown to report their health higher on self-assessments than those with no spiritual practice or lower levels of spiritual practice. For this reason, further research is necessary to refine the understanding of the connection between spirituality and health by isolating these variables, Salsman said. However, he added, for the moment it is clear that medical providers need to be attuned to the ways religion affects their patients.
Religious and spiritual belief is likely to affect patients' views on invasive treatments, prolonging care when recovery is unlikely, and determining a good death. According to Salsman, medical teams should allow space for these discussions to take place in order to provide "a better opportunity for patient-centered care."
Previous studies have shown how meditation and yoga practice can actually lead to changes in the brain and, reduce stress, improve focus and memory functions, and restore healthy function in the body. While meditation have been considered a New Age treatment, today it is widely accepted by the mainstream medical practice and supported by medical providers from both traditional and alternative medicine.
