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Introduction: Religious and spiritual support reduces distress in patients with cancer. Accurate and reliable data on religious and spiritual support received and perceived by patients with cancer would assist health authorities in planning health promotion strategies targeted at patients with cancer. In this study, a new measurement tool of religious and spiritual support for patients with cancer in Sri Lanka was developed and validated. Methods: A new tool, the Religious and Spiritual Support Scale (RSSS) was developed based on the previous questionnaire and evaluated using 40 patients with cancer. Cross-cultural adaptation was made using WHO guidelines. Reliability was checked using Cronbach’s alpha. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to examine the test-retest reliability of the tool. Convergent and divergent validity of the tool was examined using the World Health Organization-Quality of Life-Brief scale (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies–Depression scale (CES-D). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to test the construct validity of the RSSS. Results: The RSSS showed a high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha-0.874). The test-retest reliability of the scale was good (ICC = 0.981). As expected, the overall RSSS score correlated negatively with CES-D (r= - 0.338, p

Introduction: Globally breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women and Sri Lanka is not an exception. Cancer influences the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients. The survival rates and the QoL of BC patients have improved significantly over the last few decades. However, factors associated with the QoL of patients with BC have not been well studied in Sri Lanka. The aim of the study was to assess the QoL and its correlates among patients with BC treated at a tertiary care hospital in Southern Sri Lanka. Methods: Ninety-seven BC patients were investigated using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The World Health Organization- Quality of Life- Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to measure QoL. The WHOQOL-BREF measure QoL in four domains: physical, psychological, social, and environmental. Scores range from 0 to 100, and higher scores indicate a greater QoL. Results: The mean age of the sample subjects was 52 years (SD = 8.7), and the majority were married (78%). Physical (60.97±11.56), psychological (63.52±11.63), and environmental (69.05 ±8.79) domains of QoL were at a satisfactory level whereas QoL score related to social relationships was found to be low (47.86±13.89) in this sample. Physical QoL was higher in young participants and psychological QoL was higher among those with a fewer number of comorbidities and disabilities and those with no body image changes. Social QoL was higher among married and environmental QoL was higher among those who reported having no disabilities. Conclusion: Social support in the form of family support and emotional support seems to play a major role in lowering the QoL of BC patients. Psycho-social support services should target patients experiencing physical disabilities, a higher number of comorbidities, and those who were subjected to changes in their body image.