Hope has been identified as a vital component to individuals with cancer. This study focused on development of a reliable and valid instrument to measure hope following a stressful event as exhibited in a sample of well adults and a sample of patients with cancer. A review of the literature provided a conceptual framework for this study and the development of the Nowotny Hope Scale. Six dimensions of hope were identified and became the subscales for the instrument: confidence in the outcome, possibility of a future, relates to others, spiritual beliefs, comes from within, and active involvement. The sample consisted of 306 adults, both well and with cancer. Cronbach coefficient alpha for the scale was 0.90. Six factors were derived by principal components analysis. Study results established the instrument's initial reliability and validity. The hope scale, showing that hope is a measurable quantity, could be used in the assessment phase of the nursing process.