Chicago, Ill. (October 8, 2009) – Women with breast cancer
reduced stress and improved their mental health and emotional well
being through the Transcendental Meditation technique, according to
a new study published in the current issue of the peer-reviewed
Integrative Cancer Therapies (Vol. 8, No. 3: September
2009).
"A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Transcendental
Meditation on Quality of Life in Older Breast Cancer Patients" was
a collaboration between the Center for Healthy Aging at Saint
Joseph Hospital; the Institute for Health Services, Research and
Policy Studies at Northwestern University; the Department of
Psychology at Indiana State University; and the Institute for
Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of
Management.
"It is wonderful that physicians now have a range of
interventions to use, including Transcendental Meditation, to
benefit their patients with cancer," said Rhoda Pomerantz, M.D.,
study co-author and chief of gerontology, Saint Joseph Hospital. "I
believe this approach should be appreciated and utilized more
widely."
One hundred thirty women with breast cancer, 55 years and older,
participated in the two-year study at Saint Joseph Hospital. The
women were randomly assigned to either the Transcendental
Meditation technique or to a usual care control group. Patients
were administered quality of life measures, including the
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B), every six
months for two years. The average intervention period was 18
months.
Stress contributes to the onset and progression of breast
cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women - striking
about 13% of women. Women over the age of 50 have four times the
incidence of breast cancer compared to women below 50. Breast
cancer remains a leading cause of death among women, according to
the National Cancer Institute.
"Emotional and psychosocial stress contribute to the onset and
progression of breast cancer and cancer mortality," said Sanford
Nidich, lead author of the study and senior researcher at the
Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi
University of Management.
"The Transcendental Meditation technique reduces stress and
improves emotional well-being and mental health in older breast
cancer patients. The women in the study found their meditation
practice easy to do at home and reported significant benefits in
their overall quality of life," Dr. Nidich said.
"Decades of research have shown that stress contributes to the
cause and complications of cancer," said Robert Schneider, M.D.,
F.A.C.C., co-author and director of Institute for Natural Medicine
and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management. "The data
from this well-designed clinical trial and related studies suggest
that effective stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation
program may be useful in the prevention and treatment and of breast
cancer and its deleterious consequences."
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