Spiritual well being and depression severity in post-operative breast cancer women

Abstract

Background: Spiritual well being as psychological construct in the recovery from cancer have been studied widely. Studies have reported that spirituality play a predictive role, giving insight into how to deal with psychological symptoms associated with diagnosis and treatment phases of cancer. This study aims to find out how well spiritual well being predicts the depression severity in post operative breast cancer survivors. Method(s): A purposive sample of 49 breast cancer patients, age range 30-65 years were studied in two groups i.e. post surgical group (n = 24) and surgery waiting group (n = 25). spiritual well being was measured using functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-spiritual well being scale (FACIT-Sp 12) (Indian adaptation). The depression anxiety and stress scale (DASS) (Indian adaptation) was used to assess the distress level of the patients. Result(s): The results indicated that symptoms of depression were observed more in patients who had already received Surgical treatment (Mean= 6.58; SD =2.41) when compared to patients who were waiting for surgery (Mean= 4.48; SD = 1.47) (F = 13.68, p < 0.05). Results also showed spiritual well-being as strong correlate of depression, providing a unique contribution to the prediction of depression severity among post operative breast cancer patients. Conclusion(s): A person's spiritual well being possibly lowers the incidence of depression. For some breast cancer patients, a strong faith in God may result in having purpose and meaning in life; for others, it may be having a strong support system. The results have important implications for care of terminally-ill individuals because they show the importance of spiritual well-being in keeping psychological distress of patients who are facing death to a minimum and targeting spiritual well being in various mental health interventions.