Spirituality is an aspect of human nature and should be incorporated into a person-centred, holistic assessment in cancer care. However, spiritual assessment in this context is often overlooked. This article discusses the findings of an integrative literature review which explored the role of spirituality in women with breast cancer. Four database searches were supplemented with searches of the reference lists of included articles and grey literature. A total of 18 articles were identified and four themes emerged inductively – the role of spirituality at pre-diagnosis, diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment. Spirituality was reported to have negative and positive effects on a range of aspects of well-being, including emotional, functional, physical, social and spiritual. Spirituality is unique to each individual and nurses should provide holistic care that identifies the aspects of spirituality to which individuals attribute meaning. Nurses should ensure their practice incorporates an assessment of spirituality as part of a person-centred approach to care.