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

di Gioacchino Pagliaro, Francesco Bernardini

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), angerhostility
(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.