Christine A. Zawistowski, MD, HemOnc Today: A diagnosis of cancer is accompanied by a high degree of emotional stress.
Consequently, psychological interventions have become a vital and integral component of cancer care.
One example is mindfulness meditation, a form of meditation derived from the Buddhist practice of insight meditation. It is designed to develop the skill of paying attention to both inner and outer experiences with acceptance, patience and compassion. It focuses on experiencing life in a nonjudgmental way, in the moment.
The practice strives to help patients develop stability, inner calmness and non-reactivity of the mind. In essence, it tries to train …