[FROM PASTORAL CARE TO SPIRITUAL CARE - TRANSFORMING THE CONCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF THE SPIRITUAL CARE PROVIDER].

Spirituality is a difficult concept to define, one that is often understood differently by different cultures and religious communities. Illness constitutes a dramatic change in the ongoing flow and norms of a person's life, raising questions of the value or meaning of life, questions of self-worth, and questions of forgiveness, to ourselves and others. The profession of spiritual care comes to provide support in these areas.

[DO WE HAVE MEDICAL MEASURES THAT ATTEST TO THE EFFECT OF SPIRITUAL CARE IN TIME OF ILLNESS?].

Everyone has spiritual resources that generally serve them well, and in times of struggle, part of people's suffering is spiritual. Tending to patients' "whole pain" must include their spiritual pain. Studies from Israel and worldwide found that approximately one-third of advanced cancer patients suffer spiritual distress.