This concept is increasingly being incorporated into the care processes of cancer centers.
Dr. Edna Mora, MD, surgeon and researcher at the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center. Photo: Journal of Medicine and Public Health. Fabiola Plaza.
Hearing a doctor talk about spirituality is not common, but Dr. Edna MoraAnd Surgeon and researcher at the University of Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCCUPR), has partnered with the Journal of Medicine and Public Health a discipline that transcends religions, known as spiritual oncology.
The specialist explained that it is not about religions, but rather about something universal that unites the soul with the body, because the human being is the body, soul and spirit, and that the concept arose when she understood that something was missing when she attended the patient, because in his opinion, spiritual oncology refers to that part that “beyond In it the organism is body and soul. It is that part that we cannot notice, but this is very important in all matters of life. Spiritual oncology is based on striving that the patient is able to attend to spiritual issues within the process of diagnosis and treatment.”
Even, as the Distinguished Oncologist reports in the Scientific Investigation of Triple Negative Cancer in Puerto Rico, the American Society of Clinical Oncology has realized this concept by developing guides to guide specialists and they can in turn share with primary care physicians, nurses, and patients.
“Many people use the term healing and healing as the same thing and in fact, they are quite different. When we know about spiritual oncology, we see healing as that process in which a body that has contracted a disease, for whatever reason, exposes them to some treatment as it is gone Disease and this is healing, but this is not a cure, and it is not equivalent to healing, because there are patients who have not been cured, and their disease has not disappeared, and this disease was until they were cured because the healing is spiritual.”
The last stages of life: diagnosis and care
“In my own personal, I understand that spiritual oncology must be addressed at all stages of a patient’s diagnosis and treatment, because spirituality affects how we see all things, how we feel and how we react to them? So the patient who comes in getting a biopsy or surgery also has an advantage. If they include their spirituality within the holistic treatment,” Dr. Mora explained.
The specialist noted that it is important to take an interest in spirituality in oncology, which is why, over time, more specialists have incorporated this type of care into clinical patient care, incorporating, for example, words of encouragement.
A process that challenges everyone: doctors, nurses and patients
Dr. Mora asserts in her story that healing is the exploration of that energy, that support, that vision, of what a human being is, “which is neither the body nor the soul, but we know it exists, because in our minds, we are rooted in it, but we don’t practice it.”
Therefore, he stressed that many patients may not recover, but rather recover from a spiritual point of view, whether with himself, his family or his environment.
“Usually, we see spirituality expressed more in situations where a person is dying, or where a relative, a dies, or a friend dies; because we picture ourselves in that situation, that is, we see that we need to develop that spirituality because when we know So, we see things differently.”
Dr. Mora emphasized in a calm voice that she does not know spirituality at its best, but is in a continuous learning process, as she has seen how patients feel more supported.
The specialist explained in her work that other aspects are integrated as other skills are stimulated so that the patient sees the situation from another point of view.
“This is for both the patient and family members, and I think they can handle the situation more calmly, with more knowledge, be more open to alternatives and make better decisions, and ultimately not have to worry about what the end result will be because we are already going down that path which is the disease in This case, because it gives us the opportunity to develop it and share the spiritual oncology,” he concluded.