Prayer in Cancer
What the Patients Said
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.37067Keywords:
Cancer, prayer, well-being, storytelling, grounded theory, qualitative data analysis, practical theologyAbstract
How do cancer patients pray? This article presents research into what was found within stories published by 160 cancer patients. A grounded theory methodology was used for this study. Almost equal numbers of men and women provided evidence of praying. A positive association of prayer with well-being was found. Some cancer patients utilized poetry or scripture or meditation. Others used petitionary prayer, for others it was intercessory prayer. However, thanksgiving prayer was the most common form. Women were found more likely to thank their friends whereas men thanked their families.
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