Effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy based on religious believes on hope and quality of life in the patients suffering breast cancer

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women, which is the second common cause of death among them. Breast cancer can often make people prone to psychological problems and reduce their quality of life and hope to future. While having religious beliefs and attitudes can deter decreasing of hope and quality of life. The purpose of this research was study the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy based on religious believes on hope and quality of life of women with breast cancer. Methods: The study was a quasi-experimental study. The sample included 30 women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy in Ahvaz, Iran. They were matched for age, educational status, duration of disease and other criteria. The subjects randomly divided into two groups as experimental and control group (n=15 for each). For experimental group, we used 12 sessions of 45 minutes of cognitive behavior therapy based on religious believes, but the control group did not receive any intervention. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to analyse the data. Results: Results showed that there was a significant difference in hope and quality of life scores in experimental group, before and after cognitive behavior therapy, compare to control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this research revealed that cognitive behavior therapy based on religious believes significantly increased the hope and quality of life in patients with breast cancer.