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ContextTong Len meditation is an important therapeutic tool in the Tibetan medicine, and it can be used for self-healing and/or to heal others. Currently, in the West, there is no scientific study concerning the efficacy of a Tong Len distant healing effect on psychological disorders in cancer patients.
Objectives
To evaluate a distant healing effect of Tong Len meditation on stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and self-perceived quality of life in cancer patients. These psychological objectives were chosen as a consequence of the limited scientific literature of present day.
Design
We performed a double-blind randomized controlled trial on 103 cancer patients with tumors. Overall, 12 meditators used Tong Len in aid of 52 patients randomly selected as experimental group, while the remaining 51 patients constituted the control group. Patients and meditators did not know each other. All patients completed profile of mood states (POMS) and European Quality of Life—5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaires before treatment (T0), after two (T1) and three months of treatment (T2), and one month after treatment cessation (T3).
Results
With regard to the parameters related to depression, a statistically significant improvement (P = .003) was observed in the treatment group compared to controls. On the other hand, the vigor/activity parameter saw significant improvements in the control group (P = .009). Both groups exhibited significant improvements in the other factors assessed in the POMS and EQ-5D questionnaires.
Conclusions
This study did not provide sufficient evidence supporting an efficacy of Tong Len meditation in distant psychological healing as compared to a control condition. The research highlighted some psychological improvements through Tong Len distant meditation in a group of patients unknown to meditators. Therefore, the enhancement detected in most parameters in both treatment and control groups raises interest on in-depth analysis and evaluation of distant meditation on cancer patients to mitigate psychological problems caused by the disease.
CONTEXT: Tong Len meditation is an important therapeutic tool in the Tibetan medicine, and it can be used for self-healing and/or to heal others. Currently, in the West, there is no scientific study concerning the efficacy of a Tong Len distant healing effect on psychological disorders in cancer patients.OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a distant healing effect of Tong Len meditation on stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and self-perceived quality of life in cancer patients. These psychological objectives were chosen as a consequence of the limited scientific literature of present day.
DESIGN: We performed a double-blind randomized controlled trial on 103 cancer patients with tumors. Overall, 12 meditators used Tong Len in aid of 52 patients randomly selected as experimental group, while the remaining 51 patients constituted the control group. Patients and meditators did not know each other. All patients completed profile of mood states (POMS) and European Quality of Life-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaires before treatment (T0), after two (T1) and three months of treatment (T2), and one month after treatment cessation (T3).
RESULTS: With regard to the parameters related to depression, a statistically significant improvement (P = .003) was observed in the treatment group compared to controls. On the other hand, the vigor/activity parameter saw significant improvements in the control group (P = .009). Both groups exhibited significant improvements in the other factors assessed in the POMS and EQ-5D questionnaires.
CONCLUSIONS: This study did not provide sufficient evidence supporting an efficacy of Tong Len meditation in distant psychological healing as compared to a control condition. The research highlighted some psychological improvements through Tong Len distant meditation in a group of patients unknown to meditators. Therefore, the enhancement detected in most parameters in both treatment and control groups raises interest on in-depth analysis and evaluation of distant meditation on cancer patients to mitigate psychological problems caused by the disease.
CONTEXT: Tong Len meditation is an important therapeutic tool in the Tibetan medicine, and it can be used for self-healing and/or to heal others. Currently, in the West, there is no scientific study concerning the efficacy of a Tong Len distant healing effect on psychological disorders in cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a distant healing effect of Tong Len meditation on stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and self-perceived quality of life in cancer patients. These psychological objectives were chosen as a consequence of the limited scientific literature of present day. DESIGN: We performed a double-blind randomized controlled trial on 103 cancer patients with tumors. Overall, 12 meditators used Tong Len in aid of 52 patients randomly selected as experimental group, while the remaining 51 patients constituted the control group. Patients and meditators did not know each other. All patients completed profile of mood states (POMS) and European Quality of Life-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaires before treatment (T0), after two (T1) and three months of treatment (T2), and one month after treatment cessation (T3). RESULTS: With regard to the parameters related to depression, a statistically significant improvement (P = .003) was observed in the treatment group compared to controls. On the other hand, the vigor/activity parameter saw significant improvements in the control group (P = .009). Both groups exhibited significant improvements in the other factors assessed in the POMS and EQ-5D questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: This study did not provide sufficient evidence supporting an efficacy of Tong Len meditation in distant psychological healing as compared to a control condition. The research highlighted some psychological improvements through Tong Len distant meditation in a group of patients unknown to meditators. Therefore, the enhancement detected in most parameters in both treatment and control groups raises interest on in-depth analysis and evaluation of distant meditation on cancer patients to mitigate psychological problems caused by the disease.
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.
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.