Bring about Benefit, Forestall Harm: What Communication Studies Says About Spirituality and Cancer Care

Technological advances in medicine allow health care providers to diagnose diseases earlier, diminish suffering,and prolong life. These advances, although widely revered for changing the face of cancer care, come at a costfor patients, families, and even health care providers. One widely cited consequence of better diagnostics andimproved treatment regiments is the sense that there is always one more test or therapy available to extend life.Such an approach to cancer care can prove detrimental to patients’ healing. In addition, these new tests andtreatments further focus attention on the body as the site of healing and cure while downplaying other aspects ofhealth. The absence of psychological, social, and spiritual care from a patient’s cancer care plan compromiseshealing and makes palliative and end of life care more complicated. In this essay, I discuss the tensions that existbetween contemporary cancer care and spirituality and use Communication Studies scholarship to navigate thechallenges of integrating a patient’s religious or spiritual beliefs into their cancer treatment and care. In additionto discussing the challenges of communicating about sensitive topics such as illness, spirituality, and dying, thisarticle uses narrative examples from a comprehensive cancer center and a hospice (both in the United States) tounderstand how people with cancer and other terminal illnesses communicate their spirituality and how theseconversations influence health care choices and provide comfort. By understanding how patients communicateabout topics such as the meaning of life, quality of life, dying and death, providers are better equipped to offercare that is consistent with a patient’s beliefs and life goals. This approach maintains that communication ismore than a means of transferring information, but is constitutive. By understanding that communication createsour lives and shapes our worlds, lay and professional caregivers can meet patients where they are spiritually,emotionally, and socially and offer effective care that is culturally situated. For many in Muslim societies, acancer diagnosis is Divine fate. Understanding a cancer diagnosis as destiny offers comfort to some, yet cancerpatients and their family members may experience isolation because of the stigmas associated with the disease.This double-bind can lead to spiritual or existential crises, which draws further attention to the need for effectivespiritual care that ultimately fosters patient and family healing whether or not a cure is possible. Bringingtogether various approaches to communicating about diverse spiritual and religious ideas may allow for enhancedcomprehensive cancer care.