Mira El-darazi
Michener Institute, Canada
Title: The benefits of mindfulness meditation as a psychosocial intervention for breast cancer patients
Biography
Biography: Mira El-darazi
Abstract
Patients who are undergoing a cancer diagnosis, experience many psychological and psychosocial symptoms as a result of the stress caused by treatment and related side effects. Coping interventions are a crucial aspect of a breast cancer patient’s journey, and must be tailored to suit individuals’ needs in order to be successful. Meditation should be incorporated more frequently as an intervention for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. (Literature has demonstrated the adaptive qualities of meditation, and the benefits, such as accessibility, success of participants and diversity.) This program is highly effective in improving overall sense of well-being, stress, depression, fatigue, and quality of life, provided by its individualization and adaptive qualities. This research will be exploring the benefits of a mindfulness meditation based stress reduction interventions for breast cancer outpatient in terms of quality of life, mood and stress relief. Meditation is crucial as some of the symptoms that a patient may experience can be debilitating and distressing. This is caused by various factors that could lead to long lasting impacts on their psychological and psychosocial selves. In order for patients to keep their mental well-being and continue living as “normally” as possible, they require an effective intervention with components on education, social and physical life that they can control and manipulate to suit their needs. In order to obtain conclusions, a comparative study will be conducted analyzing various articles surrounding the topic and supportive objectives. Results are tentative, as report will be completed by March 2019.