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Mindfulness for the self-management of fatigue, anxiety, and depression in women with metastatic breast cancer: a mixed methods feasibility study

Mindfulness for the self-management of fatigue, anxiety, and depression in women with metastatic breast cancer: a mixed methods feasibility study
Mindfulness for the self-management of fatigue, anxiety, and depression in women with metastatic breast cancer: a mixed methods feasibility study
The impact of living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is considerable and psychosocial support can be beneficial. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) can help self-management of anxiety, depression, quality of life (QoL), and fatigue and has been evaluated in early-stage breast cancer but not MBC. This study investigated the acceptability and feasibility of providing MBSR for women with MBC and of introducing MBSR into a National Health Service (NHS) setting. A mixed methods convergent design was used. Eligible women with MBC, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0 to 2, stable disease, and life expectancy of at least 6 months were invited to attend (by their oncologist) an 8-week MBSR course. Qualitative interviews with patients, a focus group, and interview with NHS staff were held to explore acceptability and feasibility of MBSR. Questionnaires at baseline, during (weeks 4, 8), and after (weeks 16, 24) the course measured fatigue, anxiety and depression, mindfulness, disease-specific QoL, and generic preference based QoL. Of 100 women approached, 20 joined the study. One woman dropped out prior to the intervention due to illness progression. Nineteen women took part in 3 MBSR courses. Recruitment to 2 of the 3 courses was slow. Commitment to 8 weeks was a reason for non-participation, and proved challenging to participants during the course. Participants found the course acceptable and reported many cumulative and ongoing benefits. These included feeling less reactive to emotional distress and more accepting of the disruption to life that occurs with living with MBC. There was high attendance, completion of course sessions, adherence to home practice, excellent follow-up rates, and high questionnaire return rates. MBSR was acceptable to MBC patients, who perceived benefits such as improved anxiety and QoL; but the MBSR course requires a considerable time commitment. There is scope to tailor the intervention so that it is less intensive.

1534-7354
42-56
Eyles, Caroline
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Leydon, Geraldine M.
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Hoffman, Caroline J.
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Copson, Ellen R.
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Prescott, Philip
cf0adfdd-989b-4f15-9e60-ef85eed817b2
Chorozoglou, Maria
1d8dc56f-914a-402a-8155-4fb1e4380835
Lewith, George
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625
Eyles, Caroline
f8518cbb-669f-4cf6-bacb-4a174e385483
Leydon, Geraldine M.
c5cdaff5-0fa1-4d38-b575-b97c2892ec40
Hoffman, Caroline J.
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Copson, Ellen R.
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Prescott, Philip
cf0adfdd-989b-4f15-9e60-ef85eed817b2
Chorozoglou, Maria
1d8dc56f-914a-402a-8155-4fb1e4380835
Lewith, George
0fc483fa-f17b-47c5-94d9-5c15e65a7625

Eyles, Caroline, Leydon, Geraldine M., Hoffman, Caroline J., Copson, Ellen R., Prescott, Philip, Chorozoglou, Maria and Lewith, George (2015) Mindfulness for the self-management of fatigue, anxiety, and depression in women with metastatic breast cancer: a mixed methods feasibility study. Integrative cancer therapies, 14 (1), 42-56. (doi:10.1177/1534735414546567).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The impact of living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) is considerable and psychosocial support can be beneficial. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) can help self-management of anxiety, depression, quality of life (QoL), and fatigue and has been evaluated in early-stage breast cancer but not MBC. This study investigated the acceptability and feasibility of providing MBSR for women with MBC and of introducing MBSR into a National Health Service (NHS) setting. A mixed methods convergent design was used. Eligible women with MBC, an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0 to 2, stable disease, and life expectancy of at least 6 months were invited to attend (by their oncologist) an 8-week MBSR course. Qualitative interviews with patients, a focus group, and interview with NHS staff were held to explore acceptability and feasibility of MBSR. Questionnaires at baseline, during (weeks 4, 8), and after (weeks 16, 24) the course measured fatigue, anxiety and depression, mindfulness, disease-specific QoL, and generic preference based QoL. Of 100 women approached, 20 joined the study. One woman dropped out prior to the intervention due to illness progression. Nineteen women took part in 3 MBSR courses. Recruitment to 2 of the 3 courses was slow. Commitment to 8 weeks was a reason for non-participation, and proved challenging to participants during the course. Participants found the course acceptable and reported many cumulative and ongoing benefits. These included feeling less reactive to emotional distress and more accepting of the disruption to life that occurs with living with MBC. There was high attendance, completion of course sessions, adherence to home practice, excellent follow-up rates, and high questionnaire return rates. MBSR was acceptable to MBC patients, who perceived benefits such as improved anxiety and QoL; but the MBSR course requires a considerable time commitment. There is scope to tailor the intervention so that it is less intensive.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 26 August 2014
Published date: January 2015
Organisations: Primary Care & Population Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 368609
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/368609
ISSN: 1534-7354
PURE UUID: fdcec464-38c4-46bd-a9a5-77fd6f3fc42a
ORCID for Geraldine M. Leydon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5986-3300
ORCID for Maria Chorozoglou: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5070-4653

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Date deposited: 09 Sep 2014 10:07
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:32

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Contributors

Author: Caroline Eyles
Author: Caroline J. Hoffman
Author: Ellen R. Copson
Author: Philip Prescott
Author: George Lewith

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