Nurses' experiences, expectations, and preferences for mind-body practices to reduce stress.

Background: Most research on the impact of mind-body training does not ask about participants' baseline experience, expectations, or preferences for training. To better plan participant-centered mind-body intervention trials for nurses to reduce occupational stress, such descriptive information would be valuable.

Methods: We conducted an anonymous email survey between April and June, 2010 of North American nurses interested in mind-body training to reduce stress.

Integrative Tumor Board: a case report and discussion from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

A 34-year-old woman carrying a BRCA1 gene and a significant family history was diagnosed with T1c, N1 breast cancer. The tumor was estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER-2/Neu negative. The patient received dose-dense chemotherapy with Adriamycin and Cytoxan followed by Taxol, and left breast irradiation.

Facing the challenges of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with mindfulness meditation: a pilot study.

The hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) experience is emotionally and physically stressful for cancer patients who undergo this procedure. Mindfulness-based interventions have been studied in patients with various diagnoses, including cancer, although minimal work has applied this intervention to hospitalized patients. Use of mindfulness meditation has potential to provide HSCT patients with coping skills to deal with unpleasant symptoms and an uncertain future.

Reiki as a clinical intervention in oncology nursing practice.

Oncology nurses and their patients are frequently on the cutting edge of new therapies and interventions that support coping, health, and healing. Reiki is a practice that is requested with increasing frequency, is easy to learn, does not require expensive equipment, and in preliminary research, elicits a relaxation response and helps patients to feel more peaceful and experience less pain. Those who practice Reiki report that it supports them in self-care and a healthy lifestyle.

Future directions of CAM research in pediatric oncology.

Children with cancer are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to relieve symptoms, reduce side effects of treatment, and cope with the emotional aspects of having a life-threatening illness. Parental decisions about using CAM should be based on studies of efficacy and safety. Unfortunately, little evidence of efficacy is available for the majority of CAM therapies.

Mind-body therapies for the pediatric oncology patient: matching the right therapy with the right patient.

Pediatric oncology nurses provide care for children across a continuum from the point of diagnostic evaluation through treatments and cure or a peaceful, dignified death. Nurses provide this care in a wide variety of settings such as the home, hospital, clinics, schools, camps, and residential facilities. Mind-body therapies are being used more frequently in the care of children receiving treatment for cancer.

Mindfulness meditation for oncology patients: a discussion and critical review.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this article is to (1) provide a comprehensive over view and discussion of mindfulness meditation and its clinical applicability in oncology and (2) report and critically evaluate the existing and emerging research on mindfulness meditation as an intervention for cancer patients. Using relevant keywords, a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Ovid was completed along with a review of published abstracts from the annual conferences sponsored by the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society and the American Psychosocial Oncology Society. Each article and abstract was critiqued and systematically assessed for purpose statement or research questions,

Study Design: The search produced 9 research articles published in the past 5 years and 5 conference abstracts published in 2004.

"I want to do it myself!" Interferon self-injection for children with chronic viral hepatitis.

As part of protocols for the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis B or C, children were scheduled to receive subcutaneous injections of interferon three times weekly for a period of 6 to 12 months. Both the children and their parents perceived the injections as painful and technically difficult. In response, a program was developed to provide an educational approach that supported the active participation of 34 children (20 male, 14 female), ages 1.

Mindfulness meditation: a path of transformation & healing.

As nurses, we have the unique privilege of witnessing and nurturing the healing process of the whole person--mind, body, and spirit. Teaching mindfulness meditation is a nursing intervention that can foster healing. The consistent practice of mindfulness meditation has been shown to decrease the subjective experience of pain and stress in a variety of research settings.

Pediatric faculty development in integrative medicine.

As more patients use complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies, faculty may be asked to teach trainees about topics requiring faculty development training. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively a new faculty development program covering 4 key areas of CAM: herbs and dietary supplements, mind-body therapies, massage, and acupuncture. Faculty members (N = 6) volunteered for the program and were included in the study if they completed at least 3 of the 6 scheduled sessions.

Mindfulness meditation in pediatric clinical practice.

Complementary therapies are used in addition to conventional treatments; alternative therapies are generally used instead of conventional treatments. In the Five Domains of complementary and alternative therapies, patient education and cognitive-behavioral approaches are listed as mainstream interventions. Meditation is listed within the mind-body domain as a complementary intervention used to facilitate the mind's ability to affect bodily functions and symptoms.

Integrating complementary and conventional symptom management in a cancer center.

One goal of oncology nursing is to help patients achieve the best possible quality of life. In the conventional care perspective, quality of life has four aspects: physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. From the complementary care perspective, it is defined as harmony of body, mind, and spirit.