BEST PRACTICES IN INTEGRATIVE MODALITIES FOR BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND SURVIORS

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is a major disease process that impacts millions of women per year. The current treatment options are extremely invasive, contribute adverse side effects that are difficult to manage, and place a financial burden on the patient population. Research on integrative health is evolving daily and vast amount of research provides hope for more evidence-based integrative care of women with breast cancer in the future. Evidence-based integrative intervention implementation encompasses the principles of integrative nursing and best nursing practice.Aim: This thesis aims to develop evidence-based best practice recommendations for usingintegrative modalities to reduce symptoms related to cancer treatment and improve the health-related quality-of-life for individuals diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods: PubMed database was searched for published studies. The literature review assessedthe effects of yoga and mindfulness-based interventions on quality-of-life for women with breast cancer. Conclusion: The literature search identified 6 articles. Yoga is a specific integrative modality that can be recommended as an evidence-based intervention to alleviate symptoms and provide supportive care for the breast cancer patient population. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy are safe and potentially beneficial integrative interventions to improve quality-of-life; however, further research via well-designed controlled studies along with significant outcomes are needed before mindfulness can be distinguished as evidence-based.