Skip Navigation

Visiting Dana-Farber? See our prescreening and mask requirements.

For Patients & Families

Spiritual Care

  • Healing Hands

    Peace, Healing, and Growth
    Through all stages of cancer treatment and survivorship, our staff at the Center for Spiritual Care are available 24 hours a day to provide spiritual and emotional support for adult and pediatric patients and family members.


  • Join Our Spirituality and Cancer Workshop Series
    [Watch for new dates]

    Led by Dana-Farber's Chaplain, Yaroslav Nalysnyk, MD, this group series addresses the important role of spirituality in coping with cancer.

    Zoom link
    Passcode: 123456

    Who we are

    Spirituality can be a great source of strength, connection, hope, and meaning as you and your family cope with cancer and its impact on your lives.

    We are here to listen and to help guide you, regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs, by talking about your unique story, faith issues, ethical concerns, and ways to think about this life-changing experience. We can also help with other challenges you may be facing.

    Our multifaith chaplains are clinically trained and represent a variety of perspectives, including Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and other faiths. We also work closely with chaplains from Brigham and Women's Hospital to provide continuity of care for our adult inpatients, and with Boston Children's Hospital for our younger inpatients.

    Whether you are seeking emotional support, spiritual counsel, prayer, or a sacrament, you and your family are welcome to contact us before, during, and after treatment. You may also visit the Dana-Farber chapel whenever you need a place for quiet prayer, reflection, or meditation.

    Services and programs we provide include:

    • Emotional and spiritual support
    • Meditation
    • Eucharistic ministry
    • Prayer, sacred readings, sacraments
    • Assistance in obtaining kosher meals
    • Faith-specific and interfaith services in our chapel
    • Guidance in addressing ethical matters
    • Contacts with community clergy at your request
    • Devotional materials, including literature, rosaries, yarmulkes, prayer rugs, and prayer shawls
    • Sacred texts in a variety of traditions and languages
    • Shared Journeys, a monthly faith-sharing and support group for women
    • Weddings

    Religious and spiritual observances

    We recognize and celebrate significant religious and spiritual observances of all traditions at Dana-Farber. If you would like to recognize a holy day, request a particular service or ritual, or find out what will be offered in the chapel, please contact the Center for Spiritual Care at 617-632-3908.

  • Contact Spiritual Care

    617-632-3908

  • Meditation, prayer, and even silence are all powerful practices that can guide us toward inner peace and relax our minds and bodies. We can use these practices to help us find joy and calm even in difficult times. Read the powerful essay, The Value of Silence, written by Dana-Farber Catholic chaplain, Rev. Yaroslav Nalysnyk.

  • Shared Journeys is an interfaith discussion series for women patients of Dana-Farber, providing a supportive, non-judgmental space for women to share their sacred stories. Each session focuses on a particular spiritual theme and includes a speaker or activity, followed by small-group discussion and sharing. There is no cost for this event.

    During this time of COVID-19, sessions will take place twice a month on alternating Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00-7:30 p.m. via Zoom or phone. For registration and questions, please contact Chaplain Larisa Waya, at 617-632-3296 or larisa_waya@dfci.harvard.edu.

  • Rev. Walter Moczynski is the former director of the Center for Spiritual Care, a large, multifaceted program for patients, families, and staff members. He was also a field education supervisor for Harvard Divinity School, where some of Dana-Farber’s interns study. Dr. Moczynski answers five questions about spirituality.

  • Support Spiritual Care

    To learn more about the many ways you can support Dana-Farber's spiritual care program with a philanthropic gift, please contact Rebecca Shortle at 617-632-4215 or rebecca_shortle@dfci.harvard.edu.