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When individuals must deal with potentially fatal diseases their lives change in many ways. This qualitative study was designed to investigate this critical life event. The authors interviewed a convenience sample (N = 15) of 10 women with cancer and 5 men with HIV/AIDS. Findings suggest that spirituality is an essential component to feelings of health and well-being. Many of the subjects viewed spirituality as a bridge between hopelessness and meaningfulness in life. Those who had found meaning in their disease thought they had a better quality of life now than they had before the diagnosis.
Fryback et al. (Fri,) studied this question.