Abstract

Spiritual beliefs and faith are important in the lives of many terminally cancer patients, spiritual beliefs and faith can help patients cope with the emotional experiences of end of life and face death and also influence life expectancy in terminally cancer patients. The spiritual and faith dimensions fuse the essential estimations of terminally cancer patients, their considerations on what gives life meaning and religious or non-religious perspective. It additionally incorporates convictions about what happens after death. The purpose of this literature review was to describe the role of spirituality and faith in life expectancy and end of life experience in terminally Cancer patients. The reviewers searched electronic databases and performed a manual search for studies published. The inclusion criteria covered spirituality and faith for terminally cancer patients in relation to life expectancy and end of life experience. The studies were original, randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs. Studies were selected using the inclusion criteria. The results indicate that spirituality and faith produces positive effects on patient’s end of life experience and psychological conditions and on increase their life expectancy. Spirituality and faith improve the adjustment and coping strategies with cancer. Further research into the cost effectiveness of spirituality, faith and its long-term effectiveness for cancer suffering is needed.

Keywords: Spirituality; Faith; Life expectancy; End of life experience; Terminally cancer patients