How Faith Can Help Cancer Patients’ Journey to Recovery
- Actor and gospel singer Dennis Quaid, 66, says after battling drug and alcohol addiction, he found a way out through his faith. He now fills the void his prior addiction once occupied with faith-based activities such as making gospel music.
- A study published in “Cancer” includes data that found “69% of cancer patients reported praying for their health” compared to “only 45% of the general U.S. population.”
- New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans previously spoke with SurvivorNet about how faith can help people cope with the complex emotions that come with cancer.
- “It’s important to reach out in a simple prayer to God, even if you’ve never prayed before, you don’t know what to say, a heartfelt plea, ‘God, help me, be with me,'” Pastor Evans told SurvivorNet.
- Drinking has been shown to increase your risk of several cancers, including head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colorectal, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Research shows that people who lower their consumption, in turn, lower their risk of cancer.
“Parent Trap” actor Dennis Quaid, 66, believes he got a second chance at life after overcoming a drug and alcohol addiction. By leaning on his faith, he found refuge, which permitted him to refocus his attention on his children and career without hindrance.
Faith is a powerful tool people can lean on when faced with adversity. SurvivorNet has shared many stories from people living with cancer who turned to their faith to help them through the rigors of treatment physically and emotionally.
While drug abuse carries with it a myriad of health problems, alcohol has a known link to cancer risk.
There is an undeniable link between consuming alcohol, especially drinking it regularly over time, and an increased risk of several cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute. Those cancers include head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast and colorectal.
According to a study published last year in JAMA Network Open, people with “heavy drinking levels had an associated higher risk” of developing alcohol-related cancers “than those who did not drink.”
The study included 4.5 million participants who self-reported their drinking habits. The results concluded people who reduced their alcohol consumption lowered their risk.
Conversely, “Those with moderate or heavy drinking levels who quit drinking had a higher all cancer incidence than those who sustained their levels, but when quitting was sustained, this increase in risk disappeared.”
Quaid says he uses his Christian faith to fill the gap his prior addiction once occupied. In addition to acting, he also sings gospel music. Last year, he produced several songs inspired by his faith.
“I talk to God a lot, every day. I question everything I do. I believe it’s about keeping trying. It’s about self-examination and throwing your ego out the door,” Quaid told Variety.
How Faith Can Influence Your Cancer Journey
How Faith Can Help Cancer Warriors Cope
Dennis Quaid relying on his faith is a common tactic many cancer patients use to cope with their diagnosis.
A study published in Cancer includes data that found “69% of cancer patients reported praying for their health” compared to “only 45% of the general U.S. population.”
Cancer psychologist Dr. Andrew Kneier helped co-author “Coping with Cancer: Ten Steps toward Emotional Well-Being.” He also co-authored a column published by Stanford Medicine with Rabbi Jeffery M. Silberman, director of spiritual care at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut. They offer more context to the impact faith has on cancer patients.
“A person’s faith or spirituality provides a means for coping with illness and reaching a deeper kind of inner healing,” Kneier and Silberman said.
“Coping means different things to different people: it can involve finding answers to the questions that illness raises, it can mean seeking comfort for the fears and pain that illness brings, and it can mean learning how to find a sense of direction at a time of illness. Religious teachings can help a person cope in all of these dimensions,” Kneier and Silberman continued.
WATCH: Breast cancer survivor Sharon Spencer used her faith during her journey.
New York City Presbyterian Pastor Tom Evans tells SurvivorNet about the importance of finding ways to cope with the complex web of feelings you may be experiencing after a challenging health diagnosis, such as cancer.
“It’s important to reach out in a simple prayer to God, even if you’ve never prayed before, you don’t know what to say, a heartfelt plea, ‘God, help me, be with me,'” Pastor Evans told SurvivorNet.
“You can reach out to God, and you can reach out to people, your friends and family, and say, ‘I can’t do this on my own. I need you.’ “It’s in that willingness to be open and to receive that we can find something deeper that we never would’ve encountered without this hardship,” Evans continued.
How Other Cancer Survivors Used Faith Along Their Journey
Alicia Jones is a two-time breast cancer survivor and an ovarian cancer survivor. To help her cope with her diagnosis, she leaned on her support system and faith to get her through the ups and downs of cancer.
Jones received her first diagnosis after she felt a lump in her right breast. Three years after discovering the first lump, she noticed a different lump in her left breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer a second time.
After recovering and returning to work, she was once again diagnosed, this time with ovarian cancer, after a visit to the gynecologist. When Jones visited her doctor, she discovered she had a 20-centimeter mass on her ovary, which she was told was “the size of a six-month pregnant woman.”
“I’m here to tell you that you can beat it,” she told SurvivorNet in an interview.
“I beat it three times. I kept saying, God must have a higher purpose for me because, um, he didn’t take me outta here. So, there must be other things that are left for me to do or to accomplish,” Jones continued.
WATCH: Three-time cancer survivor shares how her faith helped her during cancer battle.
Sharonda Vincent of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also battled breast cancer. Just a day before she turned 30 and a month before her wedding, she discovered a lump in her left breast. As the daughter of a minister and a deacon, she turned to her faith in God to help her cope.
“One night, I was just laying there in bed. And I had a talk with God. And I knew that if I just put my faith and trust in God, that I would be OK,” Vincent told SurvivorNet.
Her treatment included chemotherapy, radiation, and then hormone replacement. After cancer treatment, Vincent said she was doing well.
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