Mindfulness-based intervention for teenagers with cancer: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Individuals living with cancer must learn to face not only the physical symptoms of their condition, but also the anxiety and uncertainty related to the progression of the disease, the anticipation of physical and emotional pain related to illness and treatment, the significant changes implied in living with cancer, as well as the fear of recurrence after remission. Mindfulness-based meditation constitutes a promising option to alleviate these manifestations. Methods/Design: This article presents the rationale and protocol development for a research project aimed at evaluating the effects of a mindfulness-based meditation intervention on quality of life, sleep, and mood in adolescents with cancer compared to a control group. A prospective, longitudinal, experimental design involving three time points (baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up) and two groups (experimental and control) was developed for this project. Participants will be assigned randomly to either group. Eligible participants are adolescents aged 11 to 18 years with a diagnosis of cancer, with no specific selection/exclusion based on type, stage, or trajectory of cancer. A final sample size of 28 participants is targeted. Adolescents in the experimental group will be completing the mindfulness meditation intervention, taught by two trained therapists. The intervention will comprise of eight weekly sessions, lasting 90 min each. Once the follow-up assessment is completed by the experimental group, wait-list controls will be offered to complete the mindfulness-based program. Intra-group analyses will serve to evaluate the impact of the mindfulness-based meditation intervention on quality of life, sleep, and mood pre-post intervention, as well as follow-up. Analyses will also be used to carry out inter-group comparisons between the experimental group and the wait-list controls. Voluntary participation, risk of attrition, and the small sample size are potential limitations of this project. In spite of possible limitations, this project will be one among very few aimed at improving quality of life, sleep, and mood in adolescents living with cancer, will evaluate the potential benefits of such a practice on both psychological and physical health of youth with cancer, and help in creating mindfulness-based intervention programs, in order to provide the necessary psychological help to adolescents living with cancer.