Improvement of cancer related fatigue in breast and colorectal cancer patients taking part in mindfulness based stress reduction

Abstract Object: one of the most common and disruptive symptoms experienced by cancer survivors is cancer related fatigue. This symptom can persist many years after cancer diagnosis, leading to reduced performance, quality of life, and significant socioeconomic outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study is to answer the question of whether mindfulness –based stress reduction on cancer related fatigue is effective? Method: this is a semi- experimental study with pre-test, post-test and control group. Among patients with breast and colorectal cancer referred to Shahid Motahari Clinic and Amir Oncology Hospital(Shiraz, 2017-2018), 38 subjects were selected through available sampling and randomly assigned to either experimental(n=19) or control(n=19) groups. The groups responded to the cancer related fatigue scale in pre-test and post-test. The results were analyzed using multivariate covariance (MANCOVA) analysis. Results: the results of data analysis showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction significantly decreased the mean scores of the fatigue subscales: Physical (F=141/49, p<0/0001), cognitive (F=66/23, p<0/0001), emotional (F= 58/44, P<0/0001) in the experimental group. Keywords: Cancer Related Fatigue, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer.