Individuals undergoing cancer treatment often have a rough road. With surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, or any other type of treatment, the days can be overwhelming. For some, spiritual health provides a mental respite.

Denise Salem, Oncology Chaplain at the Riverside Cancer Institute, shares what spiritual health entails and how it can be beneficial.

What Is Spiritual Health?

Spiritual health can be a bit confusing. People tend to equate it with a direct correlation to a faith or religion—even though that’s not really the case.

“Spirituality, as I have come to learn about it and live it, is a feeling or belief that there’s something greater than oneself, more to what you see in front of you. That may be finding peace with your life or anything that provides hope and comfort and strength on difficult days,” shares Salem.

What Is Spiritual Health’s Role in Cancer Treatment?

Spiritual health provides a feeling of purpose and meaning. An organization Salem formerly worked with studied the role of purpose in one’s life and longevity. What they found is that when someone knows their purpose in life, it extends their longevity up to seven years. “It’s another tool, and a gift, if you will, that you can use in your life,” she states.

Salem’s role as Chaplain runs the gamut of celebrating good news with her patients to sitting with them in their suffering or when they receive devastating news. “I help explore what it is they need to learn. I’m not here, and it’s not my scope of my work, to find answers for them. It’s about conversation and questions and exploring. Our time does allow the patients the opportunity to come to their own insights and find their own answers.”

Spiritual Health and Self-Care: An Important Combination

One strategy Salem advocates for is self-care, for both the patient and the patient’s support systems (family, friends). Self-care isn’t limited to eating well and getting enough rest. While those are incredibly important, it might also involve canceling social obligations or understanding what isn’t a priority in the quest to alleviate undue stress.

She also encourages patients and their support systems to ask questions. “This is a new journey for the majority of our patients. There are a lot of things they don’t know. It’s okay to ask questions and bring lists with you to your appointments. It’s also your right to be your own advocate. There’s a lot of overwhelm, unknowing, and uncertainty with cancer, and surrounding that is always a question or two.”

For more information about Riverside’s multidisciplinary oncology team, including chaplain services, click here.