Patients with advanced cancer who used their religious faith to help cope were more likely to receive intensive life-prolonging medical care such as mechanical ventilation or cardiopulmonary resuscitation during their last week of life, according to a study in the March 18 issue of JAMA.
For patients facing a life-threatening illness, religious coping, such as through prayer, meditation and religious study can offer patients a sense of meaning, comfort, control and personal growth, according to background information in the article. â’Positive religious coping has been widely associated with improved psychological adjustment to stressors including serious illness,â’ the authors write. They add that religion may influence patientsâ’ medical decisions, but little is known about the associations between religious coping and the use of intensive life-prolonging care at the end of life.
A high level of positive religious coping was also significantly associated with preferring heroic measures (wanting physicians to do everything possible to keep the patient alive) compared with patients with a low level and was associated with less advance care planning in all forms: do-not-resuscitate order, living will and health care proxy/durable power of attorney.
Personal Note
This can’t be true. I mean I can understand an Atheist wanting to stay alive, this is the end. How strong is their faith or religious values if they are afraid of what happens after death. When I faced death I was prepared to live or die, of course I wanted to live. I had my faith in science first and thoughts of after death was irrelevant. It was about each moment, I had no fear of Heaven (unless it was Heaven AKA South Park) or Hell (fire and brimstone). I could not imagine religion fogging my brain.
If I believed that ‘life after death’ is either happiness or torment holding off death sounds like a great plan. But, this is what I do not get :: if all religions teach there is a ‘better place’ so why prolong death? I guess those who are religious are just full of guilt, afraid what they believe is a bunch of crap or feel that using science to avoid death is more important then their God.
What does this prove? It proves that religion doesn’t have any real position in society, politics or popular culture except the personal. This study shows that religious do not believe enough of the promised after life instead turn to science (NOT GOD) when “push turns to shove”. They turn to science to be their hero, not GOD.
Facing death is not an easy task, but if burdened with religion (heaven or hell) I guess it would be scary. Most religions constantly teach that the individual (yourself) isn’t good enough, a sinner. The only hope is through works, faith and belief. So, when a religious person is facing death . . . it isn’t at all about “going to heaven” it is the “fear of hell”.
Religion talks of heaven, but in the end followers move to science. Nice going religion, you failed again.