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Respecting the Spiritual Side of Advanced Cancer Care: a Systematic Review

  • Palliative Medicine (A Jatoi, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Spirituality is among the resources that many turn to as they deal with a diagnosis of advanced cancer. Researchers have made much progress in exploring and understanding spirituality’s complex and multifaceted role in the midst of metastatic disease. As a result, spirituality is seen as an important aspect of a holistic and respectful approach to clinical care for patients and their loved ones. In this article, we provide a systematic review of the literature related to the interface between spirituality and metastatic cancer. We included articles published from January 2013 to June 2014. Twenty-two articles were reviewed, consisting of clinical intervention trials, association studies, surveys, qualitative studies, and review articles. The articles discussed efforts to improve patients’ spiritual well-being, with relevant measurement scales; the associations of spirituality and end of life treatment practices; and efforts to better understand and meet the spiritual needs of patients and caregivers.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the work of Heidi L. Durland in the preparation of this manuscript.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

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Conflict of Interest

Katherine M. Piderman, Simon Kung, Sarah M. Jenkins, Terin T. Euerle, Timothy J. Yoder, and Gracia M. Kwete declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Maria I. Lapid has received a grant through the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Katherine M. Piderman, Simon Kung, Sarah M. Jenkins, Terin T. Euerle, Timothy J. Yoder, Gracia M. Kwete & Maria I. Lapid

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  1. Katherine M. Piderman
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  2. Simon Kung
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Correspondence to Katherine M. Piderman.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Palliative Medicine

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Piderman, K.M., Kung, S., Jenkins, S.M. et al. Respecting the Spiritual Side of Advanced Cancer Care: a Systematic Review. Curr Oncol Rep 17, 6 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-014-0429-6

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