Abstract
Background: Disturbances in bodily wellbeing represent a key source of psychosocial suffering and impairment related to cancer. Therefore, interventions to improve bodily wellbeing in post-treatment cancer patients are of paramount importance. Notably, body psychotherapy (BPT) has been shown to improve bodily wellbeing in subjects suffering from a variety of mental disorders. However, how post-treatment cancer patients perceive and subjectively react to group BPT aiming at improving bodily disturbances has, to the best of our knowledge, not yet been described. Methods: We report on six patients undergoing outpatient group BPT that followed oncological treatment for malignant neoplasms. The BPT consisted of six sessions based on a scientific embodiment approach, integrating body-oriented techniques to improve patients' awareness, perception, acceptance, and expression regarding their body. Results: The BPT was well accepted by all patients. Despite having undergone different types of oncological treatment for different cancer types and locations, all subjects reported having appreciated BPT and improved how they perceived their bodies. However, individual descriptions of improvements showed substantial heterogeneity across subjects. Notably, most patients indicated that sensations, perceptions, and other mental activities related to their own body intensified when proceeding through the group BPT sessions. Conclusion: The findings from this case series encourage and inform future studies examining whether group BPT is efficacious in post-treatment cancer patients and investigating the related mechanisms of action. The observed heterogeneity in individual descriptions of perceived treatment effects point to the need for selecting comprehensive indicators of changes in disturbances of bodily wellbeing as the primary patient-reported outcome in future clinical trials. While increases in mental activities related to their own body are commonly interpreted as important mechanisms of therapeutic action in BPT, follow-up assessments are needed to evaluate intended and unintended consequences of these changes in cancer patients.
Highlights
Cancer is related to high individual and societal burden worldwide, which is caused by mortality, and morbidity and impairment, as indicated by recent analyses in the context of the Global Burden of Disease study and other consortia1–3
While a significant proportion of cancer-related burden directly originates from the neoplasm and its treatment, psychosocial impairment represents another substantial aspect of cancer-related burden, which is triggered by the experiences and suffering related to cancer, that often persists beyond successful treatment of the tumor itself4–8
To provide insight into the potential use of body psychotherapy (BPT) in post-treatment cancer patients and to inform potential future clinical trials on this topic, we report on a series of six post-treatment cancer patients receiving group BPT aiming at improving bodily disturbances, focusing on how the patients perceived and subjectively reacted to the intervention
Summary
Cancer is related to high individual and societal burden worldwide, which is caused by mortality, and morbidity and impairment, as indicated by recent analyses in the context of the Global Burden of Disease study and other consortia. In a recent report and analysis, Rhoten examined the concept of ‘body image disturbances’ in the context of cancer She identified three relevant attributes of body image disturbance: [1] self-perception of a change in appearance and displeasure with the change or perceived change in appearance; [2] decline in an area of function; and [3] psychological distress regarding changes in appearance and/or function. How post-treatment cancer patients perceive and subjectively react to group BPT aiming at improving bodily disturbances has, to the best of our knowledge, not yet been described. The observed heterogeneity in individual descriptions of perceived treatment effects point to the need for selecting comprehensive indicators of changes in disturbances of bodily wellbeing as the primary patient-reported outcome in future clinical trials. While increases in mental activities related to their own body are commonly interpreted as important mechanisms of therapeutic action in BPT, follow-up assessments are needed to evaluate intended and unintended consequences of these changes in cancer patients
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