A Specific Type of Tibetan Medicine Meditation for Women with Breast Cancer: A Pilot Survey

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common tumors in the world and is associated with high psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Meditation is efficacious to reduce psychological distress, but there are no studies which have evaluated a specific type of Tibetan medicine meditation in patients with breast cancer. The present research aimed to understand the effect a specific type of Tibetan medicine meditation on psychological distress in a sample of women with breast cancer. Methods: Sixty-two women with breast cancer were enrolled. We instructed the patients in Tibetan medicine meditation (five sessions). We administered the Profile of Mood States at baseline and follow-up, after five sessions of Tibetan medicine meditation. Results: The mean age of the sample was 51.08 years (SD = 11.74). There was a significant decrease in scores between baseline and follow-up in anxiety-tension (F = 23.188, p < 0.001), depression-dejection (F = 19.082, p < 0.001), anger-hostility (F = 18.732, p < 0.001), fatigue (F = 17.883, p < 0.001), and confusion (F = 15.479, p < 0.001), and there was an increase in the vigor subscale, but it was not statistically significant (F = 1.422, p = 0.234). Conclusions: This study shows for the first time that a specific form of Tibetan medicine meditation is efficacious in decreasing the psychological distress in women with breast cancer and can be an important complementary therapy to oncological care.