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. Purpose: 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. Sample: A total of 87 community-residing women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer within the past 5 years participated in the study. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.
American Cancer Society. (2007). Breast cancer facts and figures 2007-2008. Retrieved from http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/BCFF-Final.pdf
2.
Baldacchino, D., & Draper, P. ( 2001). Spiritual coping strategies: A review of the nursing research literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 34, 833-841.
3.
Bean, K., & Wagner, K. ( 2005). Self-transcendence, illness distress, and quality of life among liver transplant recipients. Journal of Theory Construction & Testing, 10, 47-53.
4.
Bussing, A., Matthiessen, P., & Ostermann, T. ( 2005). Engagement of patients in religious and spiritual practices . Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 3, 53-63.
5.
Cohen, J. ( 1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Coward, D. ( 1990). The lived experience of self-transcendence in women with advanced breast cancer. Nursing Science Quartlerly, 3, 162-169.
7.
Coward, D. ( 1991). Self-transcendence and emotional well-being in women with advanced breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 18, 857-863.
8.
Coward, D. ( 1998). Facilitation of self-transcendence in a breast cancer support group. Oncology Nursing Forum, 25, 75-84.
9.
Coward, D. ( 2003). Facilitation of self-transcendence in a breast cancer support group: II. Oncology Nursing Forum, 30, 291-300.
10.
Coward, D., & Kahn, D. ( 2004). Resolution of spiritual disequilibrium by women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 31, E1-E8.
11.
Coward, D., & Reed, P. ( 1996). Self-transcendence: A resource for healing at the end of life. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 17, 275-288.
12.
Daaleman, T., & Frey, B. ( 2004). The spirituality index of well-being: A new instrument for health-related quality of life research. Annals of Family Medicine, 2, 499-503.
13.
Daaleman, T., Frey, B., Wallace, D., & Studenski, S. ( 2002). The Spirituality Index of Well-Being: Development and testing of a new measure. Journal of Family Practice, 51, 952-960.
14.
Daaleman, T., & Kaufman, J. ( 2006). Spirituality and depressive symptoms in primary care outpatients. Southern Medical Journal, 99, 1340-1344.
15.
Daaleman, T., Kuckelman, C., & Frey, B. ( 2001). Spirituality and well-being: An exploratory study of the patient perspective. Social Science & Medicine, 53, 1503-1511.
16.
Daaleman, T., Perera, S., & Studenski, S. ( 2004). Religion, spirituality, and health status in geriatric outpatients. Annals of Family Medicine, 2, 49-55.
17.
Daaleman, T., & VandeCreek, L. (2000). Placing religion and spirituality in end-of-life care. Journal of the American Medical Association , 284, 2514-2517.
18.
Frey, B., Daaleman, T., & Peyton, V. ( 2005). Measuring a dimension of spirituality for health research: Validity of the spirituality index of well-being. Research on Aging, 27, 556-577.
19.
Larson, D., Sawyers, J., & McCollough, M. (1997). Scientific research on spirituality and health: A consensus report. Rockville, MD: National Institute for Healthcare Research.
20.
López, A.J., McCaffrey, R., Quinn Griffin, M.T., & Fitzpatrick, J.J. (2009). Spiritual well-being and practices among women with gynecologic cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 36, 300-305.
21.
Meraviglia, M.G. ( 2004). The effects of spirituality on well-being of people with lung cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 31, 89-94.
22.
Pelusi, J. ( 1997). The lived experience of surviving breast cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 24, 1343-1353.
23.
Quinn Griffin, M.T., Lee, Y., Salman, A., Seo, Y., Marin, P.A., Starling, R.C., & Fitzpatrick, J.J. (2007). Spirituality and well-being among elders: Differences between elders with heart failure and those without heart failure. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2, 669-675.
24.
Quinn Griffin, M.T., Salman, A., Lee, Y., Seo, Y., & Fitzpatrick, J.J. (2008). A beginning look at the spiritual practices of older adults. Journal of Christian Nursing. 25, 100-102.
25.
Reed, P. ( 1991a). Self-transcendence and mental health in the oldest-old adults. Nursing Research, 40, 5-11.
26.
Reed, P. ( 1991b). Toward a nursing theory of self-transcendence: Deductive reformulation using developmental theories. Advances in Nursing Science, 13(4), 64-77.
27.
Reed, P. ( 2003). The theory of self-transcendence. In M. J. Smith & P. R. Liehr (Eds.), Middle range theory for nursing (pp. 145-165). New York, NY: Springer.
28.
Runquist, J., & Reed, P. ( 2007). Self-transcendence and well-being in homeless adults . Journal of Holistic Nursing, 25, 5-13.
29.
Scarinci, E.G., Quinn Griffin, M.T., Grogoriu, A., & Fitzpatrick, J.J. (2009). Spiritual well-being and spiritual practices in HIV-infected women: A preliminary study. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 20, 69-76.
30.
Taylor, E.J. ( 2003a). Spiritual quality of life. In C. R. Kink & P. S. Hinds (Eds.), Quality of life: From nursing and patient perspectives (2nd ed., pp. 93-116). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
31.
Taylor, E.J. ( 2003b). Spiritual needs of patients with cancer and family caregivers . Cancer Nursing, 26, 260-266.
32.
Taylor, E.J. ( 2003c). Nurses caring for the spirit: Patients with cancer and family caregiver expectations. Oncology Nursing Forum, 30, 585-590.
33.
Taylor, E.J. ( 2005). Spiritual complementary therapies in cancer care. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 21, 159-163.
34.
Taylor, E.J. ( 2006). Prevalence and associated factors of spiritual needs among patients with cancer and family caregivers. Oncology Nursing Forum, 33, 729-735.
35.
Taylor, E.J., & Mamier, I. ( 2005). Spiritual care nursing: What cancer patients and family caregivers want. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 49, 260-267.
36.
Taylor, E.J., & Outlaw, F.H. ( 2002). Use of prayer among persons with cancer. Holistic Nursing Practice, 16(3), 46-60.
