Meditation Can Help Breast Cancer Survivors

Meditation Can Help Breast Cancer Survivors

Six-week class reduced fear of recurrence, fatigue and anxiety, researchers report

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, June 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Mindfulness meditation seems to help breast cancer patients better manage symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and fear of recurrence, a new study suggests.

Previous research has found that mindfulness meditation can reduce stress and anxiety in the general population as well as in breast cancer survivors. But, there hadn't been many large, clinical trials to test the value of the practice among breast cancer patients, said study author Cecile Lengacher, director of the predoctoral fellowship program at the University of South Florida, in Tampa.

In her study, those who took part in the six-week program had less anxiety, fear of recurrence and less fatigue compared to those who did not take the program, she found. The effect was small to moderate, she added.

"It works right away," Lengacher said of the program, known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.

The results also seemed to last through 12 weeks of follow-up. "Even after they completed the program, the benefits continued through the 12 weeks," she said. "It is a program that once you learn it, you have it for life."

For the study, Lengacher and her colleagues randomly assigned 322 women who had been treated for breast cancer to the six-week mindfulness program or to a comparison group that did not learn the technique. At the study's start, and again at six and 12 weeks, the researchers assessed the participants' symptoms. In all, 299 women completed the study. The instruction helped reduce fear of recurrence and fatigue the most, the study found. The effect was small to moderate, Lengacher added.

At the core of the program are four techniques. They include: meditation with a focus on breathing, yoga, a body scan technique (where participants learn to become aware of the entire body) and walking meditation.

The instruction trains people to be aware and pay attention to the present. "We teach them to attend to the breath and to bodily sensations," Lengacher said. Through the practice, "by this constant attention and concentration, the person learns to self-regulate their emotions."

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