Hypnosis Therapy Reduces Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients

Ivanhoe Newswire) – A type of hypnosis therapy has been shown to reduce fatigue in breast cancer patients who have undergone radiotherapy, according to a study from Mount Sinai University.

Researchers tested 200 patients in randomized trial, and found patients who underwent cognitive behavioral therapy plus hypnosis (CBTH) were less fatigued than 79 percent of patients in the control group during treatment. Six months after treatment ended, patients who received CBTH were less fatigued than 95 percent of those who were in the control group.

"These results support CBTH as an evidence-based complementary intervention to control fatigue in patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer," lead researcher Guy Montgomery, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program at Mount Sinai, was quoted as saying. "CBTH works to reduce fatigue for patients who have few other treatment options. It is also noninvasive, has no adverse side-effects, and its beneficial effects persist long after the last intervention."

For more information, go to:http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2014/01/13/JCO.2013.49.3437.abstract