Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on anxiety and depression among breast cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on anxiety and depression among breast cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy. Methods A total of 83 cases of breast cancer patients in the Department of Cancer Chemotherapy of Lianyungang Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University undergoing postoperative chemotherapy were recruited and randomly divided into experimental group (n=42) and control group (n=41) . The control group received the routine care, while the experimental group received an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy on the basis of routine care. A research assistant who was blinded to the intervention collected the data using Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) at baseline and immediately after the intervention. Results No significant difference was detected between the experimental and control group in anxiety and depression at baseline (P>0.05) . A significant difference was found between the experimental group and the control group after the intervention in anxiety and depression (P<0.05) . In the experimental group, a significant reduction in anxiety and depression was obtained after the intervention (P<0.05) . Conclusions Mindfulness-based stress reduction effectively reduced the level of anxiety and depression of breast cancer patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy. It could be integrated into routine care or continuing nursing care. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Anxiety; Depression; Mindfulness-based stress reduction