Background
Female breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer worldwide, estimated at nearly two million new cases last year. Cancer patients report experiencing a loss of hope and deterioration of the quality of life. Researchers have explored ways to increase hope in breast cancer survivors through the use of self-compassion based interventions. Self-compassion helps individuals enhance their self-kindness, mindfulness, and their sense of common-humanity in their struggles.
The Study
A research team in IranSpain investigated the effects of a self-compassion intervention for breast cancer patients. The team randomized two groups into either an intervention or control group. Patients in the intervention group received eight sessions of the self-compassion intervention where they learned exercises and discussed with the group. Both groups completed self-reported questionnaires that assessed their hope before and three months after the intervention.
The Results
The study found that the intervention group of breast cancer patients receiving the self-compassion intervention had a significant increase in the intervention groups’s level of hope, agentive, and strategic thinking. No changes were observed in the control group. This study highlights how self-compassion training can be leveraged in this vulnerable patient population. As an emerging body of evidence supports how psychosocial educational programs such as self-compassion based training can improve patient outcomes, researchers will continue to explore the exact psychological mechanisms that might lend to this increase of hope and how that ultimately affects breast cancer patient outcomes. Such interventions are highly transportable and can be delivered at the patient’s bedside by nurses. Self-compassion interventions might one day become a standard practice for breast cancer patients and survivors.
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