Research: CARLSON and co-workers,

Listed in Issue 101

Abstract

CARLSON and co-workers, Department of Psychosocial Resources, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Alberta Cancer Board, 1331 29 Street NW, Calgary, Alta, Canada T2N 4N2, lcarlso@ucalgary.ca, describe mindfulness-based stress reduction in patients with breast and prostate cancer.

Background

This study was aimed at investigating the relationship between a mindfulness-based meditation programme for stress reduction in early stage breast and prostate cancer patients and their quality of life, mood, stress symptoms, and levels of various stress markers.

Methodology

59 patients with breast cancer and 10 patients with prostate cancer enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction programme that incorporated relaxation, meditation, gentle yoga, and daily home practice. Quality of life, mood, stress, and the hormone measures of salivary cortisol, plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, and salivary melatonin were measured before and after the intervention.

Results

Significant improvements were seen in the overall quality of life, symptoms of stress, and sleep quality, but these improvements were not significantly correlated with degree of programme attendance or home practice. No significant improvements were seen in mood. Changes in stress symptoms or mood were not associated with changes in hormone levels.

Conclusion

Mindfulness-based stress reduction programme enrolment was associated with an increase in quality of life and decreased stress symptoms in cancer patients but so far only tenuous evidence for changes in hormone levels that might indicate a better functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

References

Calrson LE, Speca M, Patel KD, Goodey E. Mindfulness-based stress reduction in relation to quality of life, mood, symptoms of stress and levels of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone suflate (DHEAS) and melatonin in breast and prostate cancer outpatients. Psychoneuroendocrinology 29 (4): 448-474, May 2004.

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