Pilot Study of a Social/Behavioral Intervention on Cancer Survivors, Evaluating the Effect of Mind Body Interventions on Patient Reported Outcomes, Inflammation and Epigenetics.
Barbara Nemesure
Summary
Cancer survivors can experience health issues that cause chronic illness and lower quality of life. Yoga is a well-known holistic approach to health and overall well-being. Mindfulness has many benefits, including improved focus and less stress. This study aims to evaluate if yoga and/or mindfulness has a positive effect on cancer survivors social, emotional and physical well-being as well as their epigenetics. Epigenetics is how the environment can effect your genes; not by changing our DNA, but by turning genes on or off.
Description
Randomized interventional pilot study to evaluate whether a mind-body intervention (Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) or (oncology-informed yoga) influences patient-reported Quality of life (QoL) outcomes (physical/social/emotional/ functional well-being and symptom burden) in cancer survivors. A secondary (exploratory) aim is to evaluate whether these mind-body interventions impact epigenetics.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults over 18 years old * Primary diagnosis: Lung Cancer, Colon Cancer and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) * Six months post cancer-directed treatment (chemotherapy, targeted and immunotherapy). Patients with active disease (e.g. metastatic colorectal cancer) who are not receiving any cancer-directed treatment are eligible. * Able to provide a saliva sample * Gives informed consent and agrees to be randomly assigned * Able to complete the questionnaire(s) in English. Exclusion Criteria: * Adults with primary anal and/or primary rectal cancer. * Adult cancer survivors who…
Interventions
- BehavioralOncology-informed yoga
8 weekly sessions of cancer informed-yoga incorporating light movement, breathing techniques, and some meditation practices
- BehavioralSMART
SMART, developed by the Impact Foundation, is an adaptation of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) approach that incorporates other elements like mindful self-compassion, emotional literacy, and positive psychology principles to address the unique stressors faced by teachers.
Location
- Stony Brook University Cancer CenterStony Brook, New York