Stress and Response to Treatment: Insights From a Pilot Study Using a 4-week Contemplative Self-Healing Meditation Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Along with symptoms of anxiety and depression, many breast cancer survivors experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that may worsen in the setting of other stressful life events. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate whether a 4-week version of our Contemplative Self-Healing program would have different effects in reducing PTSD symptoms between breast cancer survivors with or without chronic stress at baseline. PTSD symptoms were measured using the Impact of Events scale (IES). A linear mixed model analysis was used to evaluate within patients changes in IES score. Results showed that breast cancer patients who were experiencing chronic stress reported greater improvement in IES score than those without chronic stress. Our preliminary findings shed light on the need to evaluate life stressors in breast cancer patients. Evaluating chronic stress may be essential in predicting which cancer patients may benefit most from a psychological intervention.

Efeito da meditação no nível de estresse psicológico de mulheres com neoplasia mamária: revisão sistemática

“…After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 85 articles were considered eligible for title and abstract reading, of which 22 were selected for full reading, analysis and discussion. Publications were identified in the years of 2017 (20)(21)(22) , 2016 (23)(24) , 2015 (25) , 2014 (26)(27)(28), 2013 (29)(30)(31) , 2012 (32)(33) , 2011 (34)(35) , 2010 (36) , 2009 (37)(38) , 2008 (39) , 2007 (40) , 2003 (41) . Most studies were conducted in the United States (21)(22)28,30,35,38,41) , Denmark (31) and Canada (24,34,40) .…”

The Effectiveness of a Centering Meditation Intervention on College Stress and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…This experimental study was a 4-week randomized controlled trial that compares the effects of a centering meditation group to a waitlist control group on stress and mindfulness. The length of the study (4 weeks) and frequency of meditation (twice a day) is based on the procedures of related empirical studies (Offidani et al, 2017 ; Knabb et al, 2020 ). The study protocol includes Intention-to-Treat (ITT) analysis to reduce any biased effect of the intervention (Gupta, 2011 ).…”

Dietary supplement use and documentation in a breast cancer survivorship clinic

“…Women and men who have completed “active” treatment for breast cancer continue to worry about the risk of recurrence and the long-term impact of their therapy [ 1 ]. Many patients seek information about dietary supplements to improve their general health and to bolster their “immune health” [ 2 ].…”