New Peer-Reviewed Research Spotlights a Blind Spot in Cancer Care — And Where Faith Fits In
A study co-authored by our own Karen Tripp is now published in Supportive Care in Cancer, and it's a milestone moment for the Christian Cancer Research Initiative.
Spirituality and religiosity in cancer care: A targeted review of the NCCN distress thermometer and implications for holistic screening. Click here to read the full article.
For years, the Christian Cancer Research Initiative has believed something simple: no one should walk through cancer without the hope of Christ, and that belief deserves to be tested and taken seriously by the oncology community — not just spoken from the heart.
That's exactly what this new research does.
Our own Karen Tripp co-authored "Spirituality and Religiosity in Cancer Care: A Targeted Review of the NCCN Distress Thermometer and Implications for Holistic Screening," published in Supportive Care in Cancer alongside researchers from The Meros Center and LUNGevity Foundation. Additional authors include Jessica Benfer, Tendai Chihuri, and Bellinda L. King-Kallimanis.
What the study found:
The nation's most widely used cancer distress screening tool — the NCCN Distress Thermometer — includes a single checkbox for "spiritual/religious concerns." But this review found that we actually know very little about how that checkbox gets used, or what happens after a patient checks it.
Looking across the available research, the team found that a meaningful share of cancer patients — especially around diagnosis, during active treatment, or at recurrence — flag spiritual or religious concerns, and those concerns often show up alongside high overall distress. Yet how often a flagged concern actually led to real spiritual support or a referral was rarely tracked. In short: spiritual distress is common, it's real, and it's under-measured and under-addressed in modern oncology.
Why this matters to us:
This is precisely the gap the Christian Cancer Research Initiative exists to close. We believe faith isn't a footnote to the cancer journey — it's core to it. This study gives that conviction a foothold in the peer-reviewed literature, and points to exactly where more research, better screening, and stronger spiritual care integration are needed.
Since 2021, Cancer Companions has been bringing this message to national oncology conferences and into cancer research journals. In 2025, we formalized that work as the Christian Cancer Research Initiative, partnering with organizations like The Meros Center and LUNGevity Foundation to keep building the evidence base.
Read the study: Spirituality and Religiosity in Cancer Care: A Targeted Review of the NCCN Distress Thermometer and Implications for Holistic Screening — Supportive Care in Cancer, 2026
Learn more about the Christian Cancer Research Initiative and how you can pray for, support, or get involved in this work.
History and Abstracts
Since 2021, Cancer Companions has proclaimed the power of faith-based programs and Christian practices at national oncology conferences and in cancer research journals. In 2025, Cancer Companions has solidified these efforts into the Christian Cancer Research Initiative.
See a collection of our oncology research abstracts HERE.
It explodes the mind to think what God can do with such an initiative.
Picture newly diagnosed cancer patient receiving their cancer care plan with recommendations for procedures, treatments, nutrition as well as faith-based practices and programs.
Don’t miss the excitement! Join this God-sized movement and make a difference not just in the lives of millions of cancer patients but in the healthcare system which is in need of a MASSIVE dose of Christ.
Join the Christian Cancer Research Initiative Prayer Team and receive quarterly prayer requests for our efforts and updates on our Christian cancer research studies. CLICK HERE
Share Your Recommendations by CLICKING HERE
Christian research topics
Research partner organizations
Research professionals who might want to learn about this initiative
Individuals with a heart for participating in studies like these
Contribute to this world changing endeavor through a monthly or one time donation. CLICK HERE to donate page.
Join us TODAY!
This is an amazing adventure with the Lord and it is fueled by people just like you.
