Carlson, L.E., & Garland, S.N. (2005). Impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on sleep, mood, stress and fatigue symptoms in cancer outpatients. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 12, 278–285.

The mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention was provided over eight weekly 90-minute group sessions. Details of the intervention have been previously described in Carlson et al. (2003). Participants were asked to complete 45 minutes of meditation homework six days a week and recorded their progress in a homework log. Patient outcomes were assessed at baseline and at week 8.

• N = 63
• MEAN AGE =54 years
• AGE RANGE = 32–78 years
• FEMALES: 78%
• KEY DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Patients with cancer—cancer diagnoses were varied, with the most common being breast (59%), followed by prostate, ovarian, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma
• OTHER KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: The majority of participants was married (71%) and well educated (mean = 16 years of formal education)

• LOCATION: Tom Baker Cancer Center

• Pre-post intervention study

• Profile of Mood States (POMS)

The MBSR intervention resulted in a statistically significant improvement in fatigue when comparing pre- and post-test outcomes (p < 0.001). Statistically significant relationships also were found between changes in symptoms of stress and fatigue (p < 0.001), as well as changes in mood disturbance and fatigue (p < 0.001). Therefore, with less fatigue, patients also were less stressed and less moody.

• Lack of a control group
• Cannot determine which aspects of the intervention led to observed improvements in fatigue because MBSR is delivered in a multimodal format
• Lack of a specific measure to assess fatigue
• No follow-up assessment; therefore, long-term effects of MBSR remain unknown