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Inova Health System Life with Cancer® Spirituality Quest Group, Fairfax VA
by Marsha Komandt, RN, BSN, OCN®, Oncology Education Coordinator

The spiritual quest of an individual is a very personal one, in particular those struggling with a serious illness such as cancer when they may frequently turn to spiritual values to help them cope with or understand their illness. Because of this, our community hospital and health system's cancer program called Life with Cancer, implemented a Spirituality Quest Group. As part of Life with Cancer's mission to enhance the quality of life of those affected by cancer by providing education, information and support, we realize the spiritual needs of an individual are as important as the physical and emotional needs.

From an initial one evening spiritual education type format class offered for cancer survivors fifteen years ago and a yearly type class for five years thereafter, eventually a successful monthly spiritual group was borne. Groundwork consisted of collaboration with the community hospital's Chaplaincy Services Department and the initial co-facilitators' participation in a nearby university parish nursing program. We were also influenced by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations which recommends hospitals provide pastoral care and spiritual services for patients since, for many, it is an "integral part of health care and daily life".

When the actual spirituality group met for its first session, much discussion naturally centered on "What is spirituality?" and what name the group would be called. After many creative names, the fundamental "Spirituality Quest" was chosen, as it reflected the connection between the questioning and the experiencing of one's beliefs. The group's quest for spirituality has been more closely linked to their hopefulness and their connection with each other, even though guest speakers have addressed various kinds of spirituality, for example, Salesian, Tibetan, Native American, as well as ways of touching the soul through our senses with music, art, sound and nature.

The format of the group consists of monthly daytime one and one half hour sessions, with topic focused sessions that naturally are spiritual related, guest speakers alternating with group discussion each month. Occasionally there have been yearly themes such as heart related, soul connections, spiritual potpourri, telling and listening to stories with monthly topics corresponding to the theme. Examples of topics have included the following: Tibetan singing bowls, 12 step spirituality, Jungian approach to spiritual guidance, African safari spiritual journey, spiritual inventory (aligning one's priorities), forgiveness, prayer, spirituality and health, healing power of colors, spirituality of the Labyrinth. Every fall we have someone with a canvas labyrinth come to our hospital facility to set it up for our Spirituality Quest Group for the first two hours of the set time frame and then open it up for hospital employees the remaining time.

Spirituality as defined by our program and the group is different from religion, spirituality more related to one's personal experience, religion more related to the conceptualization of the experience. Connection with one's self, others, a higher power remains consistent in the group as the essence of spirituality. It is the cornerstone, foundation of life -"all that we are" and the path or journey which we are following. We in our cancer program are honored to be a part of this journey.