The Effects of Mindfulness Training on Cancer-Induced Fatigue and Chemotherapy Adverse Effects in Cancer Patients

Cancer refers to the cell masses with malignant properties. Cancers are among the most common and severe diseases observed in clinical medicine. Patients describe fatigue resulting from cancer as very severe, chronic, and frustrating that does not eliminate with rest. Fatigue presents a negative effect on various aspects of individuals’ quality of life. The standard cancer treatment is often chemotherapy, which can generate symptoms, such as nausea, fatigue, anorexia, pain, and sleep disturbances. One of the most frequent and severe adverse effects of chemotherapy is nausea and vomiting. The psychological dimension of cancer patients’ lives is as essential as their physical therapy and helps them with treatment adherence. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of mindfulness training on cancer–induced fatigue and the rate of chemotherapy adverse effects (nausea & vomiting) in cancer patients.

This was a quasi–experimental study with a pretest–posttest and a control group design. The statistical population of this study included all cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in Rasoul Akram Hospital in Tehran City, Iran, in 2017. Of this population, by referring to the records and pathology reports of patients by the oncologist, 30 subjects were selected as the study sample by random sampling method. Consequently, they were randomly placed in the experimental and the control groups (n=15/group). The inclusion criteria were having one cancer type, receiving chemotherapy interventions, an age range of 25–55 year, a minimum diploma degree, no disability or severe mental disorders (based on the medical records), and no use of drugs that stimulate the nervous system (based on medical records). Besides, the exclusion criteria of the study were absence from >3 sessions, not completing home tasks, the occurrence of unforeseen events, and unwillingness to cooperate in the study. The research instruments included the Cancer Fatigue Scale (Okuyama et al., 2000) and the Index of Nausea and Vomiting Assessment (Rhodes & McDaniel, 1999). These inventories were administered to the study groups at pretest and posttest steps. Furthermore, mindfulness training was performed only for the experimental group. Mindfulness therapy was performed in eight 90–minute weekly sessions for two months, using the training package of Norouzi and associates (2017). The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistics, including univariate Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS. The significance level of the tests was considered 0.05.

The univariate ANCOVA data suggested a significant difference in the posttest scores of cancer–induced fatigue (p<0.001) and the rate of chemotherapy complications (nausea & vomiting) (p<0.001) between the experimental and control groups. The effect size for cancer–related fatigue and the side effects of chemotherapy was measured as 0.20 and 0.18, respectively.

Based on the current research findings, mindfulness training could effectively reduce cancer–induced fatigue and the rate of chemotherapy complications (nausea & vomiting); thus, this approach can be used along with medical methods for treating this population.