Massage Therapy for Reducing Stress Hormones and Enhancing Immune Function in Breast Cancer Survivors
Abstract
The objectives and specific aims of the ongoing study are to evaluate massage and relaxation therapies for an ethnically diverse group of women with early stages of breast cancer (Stages 1 and 2) for 1) decreasing anxiety, stress and stress hormones, 2) decreasing depressed mood and increasing serotonin (a biochemical that diminishes with depression) and 3) increasing Natural Killer cell number and cytotoxicity (immune measures that fight tumors and viruses). During the course of the three-year study, 60 women diagnosed with Stage 1 and 2 breast cancer will be recruited and assigned to a massage therapy (n=20), a relaxation therapy (n=20) or a control group (n=20). Women in the massage and relaxation therapies will receive 3 sessions a week for 5 weeks. On the first and last day of a 5 week period, self-report measures will be collected on anxiety and depression and women will submit a urine sample and have their blood drawn to assay treatment effects on stress hormones and immune measures. Findings thus far on a subsample of 46 women reveal for the massage therapy group 1) reduced anxiety, 2) improved mood, 3) increased serotonin and dopamine levels and 4) increased Natural Killer cell numbers and lymphocytes; for the relaxation group, findings include reduced anxiety and improved mood and increased lymphocyte percent. These preliminary findings are encouraging and provide support for the hypotheses that massage and relaxation therapies enhance mood and immune function for women with breast cancer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA396671
Entities
People
- Gail Ironson
Organizations
- University of Miami