The effects of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients: 6-month follow-up

The goals of this work were to assess the effects of participation in a min dfulness meditation-based stress reduction program on mood disturbance and symptoms of stress in cancer outpatients immediately after and 6 months aft er program completion. A convenience sample of eligible cancer patients wer e enrolled after they had given informed consent. All patients completed th e Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Symptoms of Stress Inventory (SOSI) bot h before and after the intervention and 6 months later. The intervention co nsisted of a mindfulness meditation group lasting 1.5 h each week for 7 wee ks, plus daily home meditation practice. A total of 89 patients, average ag e 51, provided pre-intervention data. Eighty patients provided post-interve ntion data, and 54 completed the 6-month follow-up The participants were he terogeneous with respect to type and stage of cancer. Patients' scores decr eased significantly from before to after the intervention on the POMS and S OSI total scores and most subscales, indicating less mood disturbance and f ewer symptoms of stress, and these improvements were maintained at the 6-mo nth follow-up. More advanced stages of cancer were associated with less ini tial mood disturbance, while more home practice and higher initial POMS sco res predicted improvements on the POMS between the pre- and post-interventi on scores. Female gender and more education were associated with higher ini tial SOSI scores, and improvements on the SOSI were predicted by more educa tion and greater initial mood disturbance. This program was effective in de creasing mood disturbance and stress symptoms for up to 6 months in both ma le and female patients with a wide variety of cancer diagnoses, stages of i llness, and educational background, and with disparate ages.