EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE

2

Mindfulness Based Therapies for Breast Cancer Patients: Annotated Bibliography

WSO MSW Student Name

Department of Social Work, Westfield State University

SOCW 0541: Generalist Practice I

Professor James Drisko, Ph.D., MSW

October 27, 2022

References

Park, S., Sato Y., Takita, Y., Tamura, N., Ninomiya, A., Kosugi T.,… & Fujisawa, D., (2020). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological distress, fear of cancer recurrence, fatigue, spiritual well-being, and quality of life in patients with breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 60(2), 381-389.

In this article, a Japanese research team examines the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for psychological distress, fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), fatigue, spiritual well-being, and quality of life (QOL) among a group of 74 breast cancer patients. The randomized controlled trial assigned patients to “either an eight-week MBCT intervention group or a wait-list control group”. After 12 weeks of treatment, measures were taken and assessed. The results of the trial revealed that “MBCT intervention significantly reduced psychological distress in patients”, and that “MBCT was proven effective for increasing spiritual well-being, QOL, and for reducing FCR and fatigue.”

Sarenmalm, E.K., Mårtensson, L.B., Andersson, K., Bengt A.P., & Bergh, I. (2017). Mindfulness and its efficacy for psychological and biological responses in women with breast cancer. Cancer Medicine, 6(5), 1108-1122.

In this study, a group of Swedish researchers set out to “determine the efficacy of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention for mood disorders in women with breast cancer.” The randomized controlled trial included data from a group of 166 women with breast cancer, divided into three groups: MBSR (self-administered), MBSR with weekly group sessions, and non-MBSR. After an 8-week MBSR protocol, measures were taken for “symptom experience, distress, health status, coping capacity, mindfulness, post-traumatic growth, and immune status.” The results of these measures “revealed significant changes in psychological and biological responses to the MBSR intervention”. MBSR participants reported significant improvements in symptoms, especially psychological symptoms, leading the researchers to believe that “MBSR has potential for alleviating depression symptom experience, and for enhancing coping capacity…which may improve breast cancer survivorship.”