'Terminally ill cancer patients who receive spiritual support from their medical team are, on average, found to be in a better state of being near death than those who do not, according to a recently published study.Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute also found that among patients relying on their religious beliefs to cope with their illness, spiritual support reduced their risk of receiving aggressive medical interventions at the end of life.
"Our findings suggest that spiritual care from the medical system has important ramifications for patients at the end of life, including helping them transition to comfort-focused care and improving their well-being near death," commented the study's senior author, Dr Tracy Balboni of Dana-Farber.
"Furthermore, they highlight the need to educate medical caregivers in being attentive to the frequent role of religion and spirituality in patients' coping with advanced illness and importance of integrating pastoral care into multidisciplinary medical teams."
Obviously! What else would we expect?
Source: Christian Today.
