Spiritual and Emotional Experience With a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: The breast cancer diagnosis causes a high level of suffering and distress in patients who experience difficulties in coping. There is a need to improve knowledge of emotional and spiritual coping in response to the stressful situation of women who must face this diagnosis.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to map women's spiritual and emotional coping experiences reported after a breast cancer diagnosis and examine the proposed interventions and suggestions for clinical practice.

Methods: A scoping review was performed by searching the Scientific Electronic Library Online, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Latin American & Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, Medical Literature Analyses and Retrieval System Online, Spanish Bibliographic Index of Health Sciences, PSYCINFO, and Google Scholar databases using Medical Subject Headings terms. Additional pertinent studies were identified by reviewing the bibliographies of the included studies. Twenty articles were included according to the recommendations for scoping reviews.

Results: Study findings regarding emotional and spiritual coping with the diagnosis and proposed interventions were synthesized. A thematic list of interventions and recommendations for clinical practice is also provided.

Conclusions: The studies demonstrated that women with breast cancer are challenged by their emotions and experiences. The review highlights the importance of spiritual coping for redefining women's meaning in life. In clinical practice, caring for women's inherent needs when they are coping with a diagnosis is important to establish integral care.

Implications for practice: Nurses can evaluate coping strategies, offer support for adaptation to the disease, provide qualified listening, help women in their search for significance while coping with cancer, and help them identify ways to overcome this stressful situation. Similarly, they can encourage patients to find spiritual comfort and emotional support.