14 DAY TRIAL // At this point, Transcendental Meditation (TM) is not confined to the Eastern hemisphere, where it appeared, but it is making waves in the Western World as well. It has caught on very well in the United States, where people view it as a way of relaxing at least, or getting in touch with divine powers, at the most. A new study reveals that TM is successfully used by breast-cancer patients in their struggles to recuperate, and that the approach appears to be functioning to some extent, PhysOrg reports.
The paper, which appears in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed, scientific journal Integrative Cancer Therapies, shows that TM reduces stress and improves the personal, overall wellbeing in women practicing it. Their mental health is also reportedly improving, the scientists behind the investigation note. The research is entitled “A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Transcendental Meditation on Quality of Life in Older Breast Cancer Patients.”
“It is wonderful that physicians now have a range of interventions to use, including Transcendental Meditation, to benefit their patients with cancer. I believe this approach should be appreciated and utilized more widely,” Saint Joseph Hospital Chief of Gerontology Rhoda Pomerantz, MD, who has also been a co-author of the paper, says. Experts from the Northwestern University, the Indiana State University, and the Maharishi University of Management have also participated in the new effort.
“Emotional and psychosocial stress contribute to the onset and progression of breast cancer and cancer mortality. The Transcendental Meditation technique reduces stress and improves emotional well-being and mental health in older breast cancer patients. The women in the study found their meditation practice easy to do at home and reported significant benefits in their overall quality of life,” MUM Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention expert Sanford Nidich, the lead author of the study, adds.
The investigation included some 130 women suffering from breast cancer, all of which were aged 55 or older. They participated in the two-year, SJH-hosted research, which divided them into two groups – those practicing TM and those in a control group, who only benefited from the standard treatment. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) shows that, statistically, women above 50 are four times more likely to develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. Some 13 percent of all women will develop the terrible disease during their lifetime.
“Decades of research have shown that stress contributes to the cause and complications of cancer. The data from this well-designed clinical trial and related studies suggest that effective stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation program may be useful in the prevention and treatment and of breast cancer and its deleterious consequences,” MUM-INMP Director Robert Schneider, M.D., F.A.C.C., also a co-author of the new paper, concludes.