Self-transcendence, spiritual well-being, and spiritual practices of women with breast cancer.

Abstract

As women recover from the experience of breast cancer and its treatment, it is important for them to find meaning in their lives and to understand their experiences from a holistic perspective. This study was designed to provide additional information about how women and their experiences recovering from breast cancer. The specific purpose was to describe the relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being, and to identify the spiritual practices used by older women recovering from breast cancer. The theoretical framework for this study was Reed's theory of self-transcendence. A total of 87 community-residing women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the past 5 years participated in the study. There was a significant positive relationship between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being. The women used a mean of 9.72 spiritual practices with the most frequent being exercise, visiting a house of worship, and praying alone. The study results provide further support for the theory of self-transcendence. Future research recommendations are to expand the research to include a larger, more diverse group of women of all ages and backgrounds who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.