Relaxation therapy as an intervention for hot flushes in women with breast cancer

Abstract

For many women with breast cancer, menopausal signs may be troublesome.While there is still uncertainty about the role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), other ways should be sought to obtain relief from symptoms. Relaxation therapy may have a combined physical and psychological effect that may help to reduce hot flushes and night sweats. A pilot study using a randomized controlled trial method was conducted to investigate this hypothesis. Twenty-four women were randomly assigned to receive either relaxation training or no intervention, although only 16 were available for final analysis. Hot flushes were measured by a patient rating and a linear analogue scale of distress factors. A trend was seen for hot flushes and night sweats to be reduced, but the results did not achieve significance. Psychological state was measured by the General Health Questionnaire. This showed a significant reduction in psychological morbidity (<i>P</i>=0.05) in the relaxation group. The research method was shown to be appropriate and useful and larger studies are recommended to test this intervention.