Among patients with breast cancer, the period of treatment with chemotherapy can be highly distressful and drastically affect their psychological and physical wellbeing. Mindfulness-based stress reduction is a promising strategy to help patients cope with treatment-related stress, yet its practice is challenging during chemotherapy due to availability and time limitations. By taking advantage of technology, online mindfulness programs could overcome these barriers.
With the generous support of the World Cancer Research Fund, this project will evaluate whether an online mindfulness program can reduce stress levels and related symptoms among women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. Our team expects that these new insights will encourage the replication of similar accessible approaches centered on improving patients’ comprehensive health throughout their cancer trajectory
Fernanda Mesa Chavez
Background
Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer in women worldwide. Patients with this diagnosis face immense stress when receiving chemotherapy, which negatively affects both their emotional and physical health.
A potential strategy to help patients in this period is the practice of mindfulness-based stress reduction. These programs teach techniques to focus on the present, accepting each moment without judgment.
However, mindfulness practice is challenging during treatment with chemotherapy, possibly because of availability and time limitations. By taking advantage of technology, online mindfulness programs are a promising approach to overcome these barriers. Even in an era of technological advancement and increasing internet access, online mindfulness practice has not been explored during the complicated period of chemotherapy.
Aims and objectives
The goal of this study is to evaluate if an online mindfulness program can help reduce stress levels and stress-related symptoms among women with breast cancer who are receiving chemotherapy.
How it will be done
This research will involve 172 women starting chemotherapy for breast cancer in Mexico. They will be randomly divided into 2 groups: one will use a 6-week online mindfulness program, and the other will not (but will be able to use it after the study ends).
The program will consist of watching 6 pre-recorded video sessions designed to teach mindfulness practices. Each weekly session will have a duration of 1 hour and will be available on a website developed specifically for this study. All participants will answer electronic surveys assessing their stress levels and related symptoms at the start of the study, after 7 weeks, and again after 11 weeks.
The changes in the levels of stress and other related symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, nausea, and pain) will be compared over time between the group that used the online mindfulness program and the group that did not. This way, researchers will be able to assess if the program is helpful for patients.
Potential impact
This study offers a novel approach to help patients cope with the psychological and physical challenges of chemotherapy. It will provide new evidence on the usefulness of online mindfulness practice for patients receiving this treatment. In addition, it could encourage the development of future research projects to design similar approaches centred on patients’ needs and integral wellbeing.
If successful, the online mindfulness program could offer access to an innovative and convenient way to decrease stress and improve the quality of life of women with breast cancer during this tough time in their lives. This could have important implications for patient care, potentially leading to the integration of accessible mindfulness or similar programs into standard treatment practices.
The availability of these supportive care programs will importantly contribute to improving patients’ overall health throughout the cancer journey.