Meditation as a complementary therapy in cancer

Abstract

The number of cancer patients seeking complementary therapies to deal with their disease has increased steadily in recent decades. Complementary therapies can be helpful to cancer patients because they address some of the pervasive psychosocial difficulties associated with this disease. One mind-body technique is meditation. While programs using meditation have been developed for specific health populations, such as heart disease and addictions, an equivalent, well-established program for cancer patients is lacking. This article reviews the literature and proposes a complementary meditation program designed specifically for use with cancer patients.