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The Health Promoting Mindfulness or Qigong Educational Programs for Beneficial Lifestyle Changes of Cancer Survivors

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Abstract

This study used heart rate variability (HRV) to monitor levels of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and quality of life (QOL) of cancer survivors subjected to program measures at different psychosomatic or functional levels. A longitudinal study was conducted at a cancer center in Taiwan. Fifty-two cancer survivals were randomly assigned to either the mindfulness group (n = 25) or the Qigong group (n = 27). Both groups received a 12-week mindfulness and Qigong programs, respectively. Improvements in CRF, QOL, and HRV after a 12-week program and at the 3-month follow-up point. For the long-term effects in both mindfulness and Qigong groups, CRF showed a significant downward trend (p < 0.05), but a significant upward trend was observed in HRV (p < 0.001). Mindfulness and Qigong exhibited different effectiveness in individuals, indicating that the mental and physical aspects of health are equally essential and should be addressed in a complementary combination. These findings are worthy of being shared with cancer survivors to benefit their physical and mental well-being. We suggest that healthcare professionals incorporate mindfulness and Qigong in cancer survivors’ daily life as means to encourage lifestyle changes for improving their health.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Chi Mei Hospital Liuying (Grant No. CLFHR10601).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, 201, Taikang, Taikang Vil., Liouying Dist., Tainan City, 73657, Taiwan

    Tse-Chou Cheng

  2. Department of Administration, National Health Research Institutes, 35 Keyan Road, Zhunan, Miaoli County, 35053, Taiwan

    Yi-Hua Lee

  3. PhD Program in Management, Da-Yeh University, 168 University Road, Dacun, Changhua, 51591, Taiwan

    Yi-Hua Lee

  4. College of Educational Sciences, Yulin Normal University, 1303 Educational E. Road, Yulin City, Guangxi, 537000, China

    Chun-Lin Mar

  5. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, 201, Taikang, Taikang Vil., Liouying Dist., Tainan City, 73657, Taiwan

    Wen-Tsung Huang

  6. Nursing Department, Fooyin University, 151 Jinxue Rd., Daliao Dist., Kaohsiung City, 83102, Taiwan

    Yuan-Ping Chang

Authors
  1. Tse-Chou Cheng
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  2. Yi-Hua Lee
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  3. Chun-Lin Mar
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  4. Wen-Tsung Huang
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  5. Yuan-Ping Chang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuan-Ping Chang.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethics Approval

This study was reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Chi Mei Medical Center (Approval No. 10205-L03). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cheng, TC., Lee, YH., Mar, CL. et al. The Health Promoting Mindfulness or Qigong Educational Programs for Beneficial Lifestyle Changes of Cancer Survivors. J Canc Educ 35, 743–750 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01522-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01522-5

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