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Spirituality and cancer

Blog
Published: 29 April 2025
Your faith, spirituality or religion may be important to you. Read about how you can talk to healthcare professionals, support services and others about your spiritual cares needs.

Written by Kerstin Felton and Sanjeet Shergill

What is spirituality?

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How spirituality is part of your care

  • Personalised care

    The NHS Long Term Plan aims to give people living with cancer access to personalised care.

    Personalised care means you take an active role in the way your care is planned and delivered. It is based on what matters to you, and your individual strengths and needs.

    Your spirituality is an important part of personalised care. This is because your spirituality can be connected to your overall wellbeing.

    Your healthcare team may talk to you about your spiritual beliefs when planning your treatment and care. This is so they can better understand your spiritual needs.

    They may be able to signpost you to where you can get support. This could be local support groups, the hospital's chaplaincy services or other community services.

  • Palliative and end of life care

    Palliative care means the care and support you might need if you have a life-limiting illness, such as cancer. It is often called supportive care.

    End of life care is a form of palliative care you receive when you are close to the end of life.

    Your spiritual needs may change or become more important to you when facing a terminal illness.

    When planning your palliative care your healthcare team may ask about your spiritual needs. This is so they can understand what your wishes are when it comes to your treatment and future care.

    Your team may help to support your spiritual needs by:

    • arranging for you to attend religious services
    • helping you make funeral plans
    • arranging for you to see a faith leader or chaplain (you do not need to follow a particular religion or faith to speak to them)
    • writing down how you wish to be cared for as part of your advance care plan
    • signposting to further support for you and those that care for you.

    Some people who are having palliative or end of life care may feel closer to their faith, religion or spirituality for support. Others may draw away. Some people may also experience different emotions like anger, guilt or a crisis of faith.

    If you are struggling or feeling disconnected from your beliefs, spiritual care services or consellors can help you explore your thoughts and emotions without judgement.

Suad talks about the support her father received from Macmillan

Talking about spirituality

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Your stories

Peju's story

In the video below, Peju discusses her experience of cancer and her faith. We have more information about the Digital Storytelling Project and how it has supported people to share their stories and what matters to them.

Kreena's story

In 2013, Kreena was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Three years after finishing treatment, the effects of the chemotherapy led her to being diagnosed with acute heart failure.


“Despite the fading hopes of the healthcare professionals, I felt a light, a calling. Something was telling me that I would make it through, this would not be where my journey ended.


“In fact, it was quite the opposite, this was where life would begin. It was here that my journey with spirituality really began. Here that I started to really work on my mental health and wellbeing.


“Life is not linear, the more diversions you meet, the more sights you get to take in. The more you grow, the more you learn. I am eternally grateful for my journey on the bumpy winding road because that journey is what brought me here, to this space I call home.”

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