A prospective pilot clinical trial of “The work” meditation technique for survivors of breast cancer

Introduction“The work” meditation technique was developed by Byron Katie in 1986 and has been practiced worldwide. To date, there has been no empirical evaluation of its efficacy among cancer survivors.Cancer diagnoses and treatments may have short and long term negative effects on individuals' health status and wellbeing. This study assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of “The work” meditative technique in improving psychological and physical wellbeing in breast cancer survivors.MethodsTwenty-nine breast cancer survivors participated in a prospective pilot clinical trial of “The work” intervention. Sleep quality, level of fatigue and breast cancer health-related quality of life assessment was conducted before and after the intervention. The intervention consisted of 12 weekly 3.5 h group sessions in addition to individual practice for a minimum of 60 min per week.ResultsA total of 24 women (82.75%) completed the program with no adverse effects reported at any time suggesting that the technique can be implemented in this population of survivors of breast cancer. Sleep quality, levels of fatigue as well as physical, social, familial, emotional and functional wellbeing improved significantly after the intervention. The sense of coherence scores were not affected by the intervention.ConclusionsThe physical and mental health of these breast cancer survivors was improved after the practice of “The work” meditation technique. The encouraging results of this pilot study highlight the potentially beneficial effects of this intervention for this population and warrant further investigation in randomized controlled trials.