Sleep, fatigue, and pain are common symptoms in cancer survivors. Mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) and Tai Chi/Qigong (TCQ) are beneficial for these conditions, but have not been studied together. The Mindfulness and Tai Chi for Cancer Health (MATCH) study was designed to incorporate innovative design features, including patient choice, while evaluating two interventions for distressed...
Many people with cancer (PWC) continue to experience persistent biopsychosocial and existential challenges across the cancer care continuum. Symptoms such as anxiety, depression, cancer-related fatigue and pain, sleep disturbance, fear of cancer recurrence, cognitive impairment, and reduced quality of life remain highly prevalent during and after treatment, underscoring the need for...
Healthcare providers' (HCPs) perspectives on psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) are critical to clinical integration but remain underexplored in Canadian palliative and oncology contexts. This study examines HCP attitudes toward ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA, and the systemic and ethical factors influencing implementation. An exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was...
Introduction Psychedelic assisted therapy has gained increasing clinical and research attention in the last decade due to its demonstrated therapeutic potential across a variety of complex and treatment-resistant psychiatric and psychosocial conditions. As interest grows, so has the development of facilitator education and training programs. Despite this proliferation, concerns remain regarding...
The CAnadian Network for Psychedelic-Assisted Cancer Therapy (CAN-PACT) was launched in 2025 to address urgent gaps in supportive care for Canadians with cancer experiencing demoralization syndrome (loss of meaning, dysphoria, disheartenment, helplessness, a sense of failure) and related psychosocial distress. CAN-PACT has six major objectives: (1) to develop a national interdisciplinary...
Psycho-OncologyNovember 1, 2025Marie-Estelle Gaignard, Dominica Martin, Jelena Stanic et al.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are recognized as beneficial in oncology supportive care. While qualitative analyses of mindfulness program experiences exist, this is the first mixed methods study to examine patients' experiences after participating in the online Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (e-MBCR) program. The SERENITY study was a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating the...
Abstract Background Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is gaining attention as a potential treatment for cancer-related psychosocial symptoms. While growing evidence highlights its promise, little is known about how different stakeholder groups perceive its use in oncology and palliative care. Objectives This study aimed to assess stakeholder-specific perspectives on PAT, including attitudes,...
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates (1) the effectiveness of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) using psilocybin and ketamine for psychosocial symptoms in adults with cancer, (2) contextualizes findings with non-randomized and exploratory studies of other psychedelics, and (3) examines the role of therapeutic frameworks in shaping outcomes. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library,...
Many cancer survivors have high levels of distress and psychosocial symptoms. Two mind-body interventions for treating these problems are Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR) and Tai Chi/Qigong (TCQ). However, while both interventions show efficacy compared with usual care, they have never been studied together. This trial was the first, to our knowledge, to incorporate innovative design...
The oncologistJanuary 17, 2025Cristiane Decat Bergerot, Paulo Gustavo Bergerot, Errol J Philip et al.4 citations
Patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) experience emotional distress and limited supportive care access. This study assesses a mindfulness app's feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in improving emotional symptoms, trait mindfulness, and overall quality of life for patients with mRCC on immunotherapy. This multinational study recruited patients with mRCC undergoing...
People living with cancer (PLWC) often face profound existential distress that is insufficiently addressed by conventional psychosocial supports. This qualitative study explored PLWC's attitudes, beliefs, and experiences regarding psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) as a novel approach to addressing psychosocial suffering, particularly existential distress. Fifteen participants with varying...
BackgroundChronic cancer-related pain (CRP) can have a significant negative impact on quality of life. Mindfulness is hypothesized to mitigate chronic CRP by regulating both physical and emotional resistance to pain. In recent years, there has been interest in the use of virtual reality (VR) to deliver mindfulness meditation. VR provides an immersive and engaging environment, which may enhance...
This article provides an overview of the fields of psychosocial and integrative oncology, highlighting common psychological reactions to being diagnosed with and treated for cancer, including distress, anxiety, depression, fear of cancer recurrence and caregiver burden, as well as symptoms of fatigue, pain, and sleep disturbance. Patterns of symptomatology across the disease continuum are also...
TrialsFebruary 5, 2022Diana R Pereira, Eunice R Silva, Carina Carvalho-Maia et al.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been used in oncology contexts as a promising tool with numerous benefits for various health-related and psychosocial outcomes. Despite the increasing popularity of MBIs, few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have examined their effects upon biological parameters. Specifically, no previous study has examined the effects of MBIs on extracellular...
Objectives: The aim of this study was to highlight features of pragmatic real-world integrative oncology research by applying the PRagmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary (PRECIS-2) criteria to an ongoing integrative oncology clinical trial. The ongoing trial is a preference-based randomized comparative effectiveness trial of mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) versus t'ai...
Clinically significant psychological distress in pregnancy is common, with epidemiological research suggesting that between 15 and 25 % of pregnant women experience elevated symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Untreated psychological distress in pregnancy is associated with poor obstetrical outcomes, changes in maternal physiology, elevated incidence of child physical and psychological...
Mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) and supportive expressive group therapy (SET) are two well-validated psychosocial interventions, but they have not been directly compared, and little is known about long-term outcomes. This comparative effectiveness study measured the effects of these two interventions immediately following the groups and for 1 year thereafter in distressed breast cancer...
Work in the development and evaluation of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for cancer care has been underway for the last 20 years, and a growing body of literature now supports their efficacy. MBIs are particularly helpful in dealing with common experiences related to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, including loss of control, uncertainty about the future, and fears of...
Research on the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction and related mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in cancer care has proliferated over the past decade. MBIs have aimed to facilitate physical and emotional adjustment to life with cancer through the cultivation and practice of mindfulness (ie, purposeful, nonjudgmental, moment-to-moment awareness). This descriptive review highlights...
Objectives: This waitlist‐controlled study examined the timing of changes during Mindfulness‐Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR), and explored sequential mediated effects through enhanced mindfulness and emotion regulation (ER) in a cancer population. Method: Patients were recruited from the MBCR program waitlist and were either registered for immediate participation (n = 135) or waiting for the next...
Yoga practice is reported to lead to improvements in quality of life, psychological functioning, and symptom indices in cancer survivors. Importantly, meditative states experienced within yoga practice are correlated to neurophysiological systems that moderate both focus of attention and affective valence. The current study used a mixed methods approach based in neurophenomenology to...
This longitudinal waitlist-controlled study evaluated the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on spirituality, posttraumatic growth (PTG), and mindfulness in cancer patients. The study also assessed whether increased mindfulness mediated the effects of MBSR on spirituality and PTG. Patients were either registered for immediate participation in MBSR (n = 135), or were naturally...
Objective: Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an increasingly popular practice demonstrated to alleviate stress and treat certain health conditions. MBSR may reduce elevated blood pressure (BP). Treatment guidelines recommend life-style modifications for BP in the prehypertensive range (systolic BP [SBP] 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic BP [DBP] 80-89 mm Hg), followed by antihypertensives...
During the past 30 years, there has been an increase in the incidence of cancer in adolescents. While recent studies have illustrated remarkable resilience in youth living with cancer, they can also face daunting acute and chronic adjustment struggles, cognitive and school problems, family and peer relational difficulties, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and other anxiety disorders....
Elevated stress can exacerbate cancer symptom severity, and after completion of primary cancer treatments, many individuals continue to have significant distress. Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR) is an 8-week group psychosocial intervention consisting of training in mindfulness meditation and yoga designed to mitigate stress, pain, and chronic illness. Efficacy research shows...