Using Mindfulness for a Better Quality of Life
By Dr. Taryn Allen, Clinical Research Directorate, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research
We are living through a time where individuals of all ages are facing extraordinary rates of stress and anxiety. As a clinical psychologist, I often consider how we can help support ourselves and one another using tools that are feasible and accessible. Mindfulness, which can be simply defined as paying attention to the present moment, is one approach that can fit into our everyday routines. It has great potential to reduce stress and improve quality of life.
My Focus
My work is focused on children with rare and advanced-stage cancer. There is a real gap in the supportive care for this pediatric group, despite a significant need. Historically, there has been very limited research focused on therapies or tools to help enhance emotional wellbeing and quality of life among children with advanced state or high-grade cancer. I want to help prioritize this element of health for these children — or at least shine a little light on it — alongside their other health needs. I want to help youth and their parents harness sources of strength, and feel connected to what is most important, which is very difficult to do in the face of a devastating prognosis.
Through my work with pediatric oncology patients, both in a clinical context and in research, I developed a desire to focus on whole-health and mind-body interventions that can support children and adults with wide-ranging health concerns. I became passionate about helping patients address physical and emotional stress, which led me to use therapies that can target both. Specifically, I lean into mindfulness-based approaches because they are accessible, effective, and quickly transfer from the therapy room into real life.
Clinical Trial
At my institution, we have opened a clinical trial for patients ages 5 to 24 years old with any high-risk/advanced-stage cancer and their caregivers.
The program includes a 75-minute in-person session during which we have a “coach” meet each with the pediatric or young adult patient and a caregiver to talk about coping, values, and ultimately mindfulness. For younger kids, we use a toolbox that includes tangible reminders of coping strategies including mindfulness, which helps to make complex concepts a little easier to understand. We also provide each patient and caregiver with a mindfulness kit to take home. This includes a booklet with a description of mindfulness exercises, audio files of the exercises, materials like a coloring book or scented eye pillow, which are used during active practice, and a meditation mat. We want to minimize barriers to those who participate, so we also can loan out Mp3 players to listen to exercises and we provide a set of headphones.
Participants are asked to practice 5 days a week, or as many days as possible, for 5–20 minutes in a setting of their choice. The program is designed to be convenient and flexible, so people can do it anywhere with little disruption to their everyday routines. We check in with participants while they are at home and bring them in for a follow-up visit after 8 weeks. During this appointment, we get feedback about their experience and ask everyone to fill out some forms about their health and wellbeing. The goal is to help families take this intervention out of the clinic and into real-life quickly and without much burden.
Our Findings
So far, we have learned that even the most flexible and brief interventions can be very challenging to implement under the circumstances facing many families. More importantly, we have learned that families are eager for this type of support and that many aspects of this type of intervention are doable once it is accessed. We are hopeful that it can help patients and their caregivers feel more connected with their values, though we will certainly learn more as we continue with the trial.
How You Can Get Started with Mindfulness
Whatever season of life you are in, there is a good chance you are being faced with things that cause stress and anxiety.
I think one of the biggest barriers to coping with stress is the belief or worry that strategies won’t work. That is, there is a fear that we will put in the effort to feel better and despite our best effort, we still feel stressed or overwhelmed or sad or angry.
I would encourage you to think about mindfulness as a potential tool that can be pulled upon as needed, in different circumstances, but none of these tools is a cure-all.
You can find helpful tools and resources through podcasts, apps, books, webpages, by consulting with a counselor or therapist, or even talking with good friends or family — and see which one helps you in the moment.
But be flexible and gentle with yourself.
Start small and spend one or two minutes simply tuning into an everyday activity or experience. In other words, pay attention to the sights, sounds, smells, emotions, that come up when washing your hands or walking from place to place. And, if you notice that it is hard to focus on the task at hand, know that your awareness of this difficulty is a mindful observation in and of itself.
Over time, and with more practice, you will likely find yourself better able to tune your experiences. In turn, you may feel less clouded by big emotions (the emotions are still there, but they are not the only thing you can see or hear), and able to make decisions based on your values — the things that are truly most important to you.
The research is supported by the MaxLove Project Fund St. Baldrick’s Supportive Care Research Grant. To learn more about how you can support childhood cancer research, visit StBaldricks.org.
This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under Contract №75N910D00024, Task Order №75N91020F00003. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
