Effects of dance/movement therapy on the psychological distress in breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy

Abstract

Breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy experience symptoms of psychological distress, which may significantly affect their daily functioning, quality of life during treatment, and illness prognosis. There is a need for an integrated therapeutic intervention for the patients. This randomized controlled study examined the effects of DMT on psychological distress in Chinese breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. A 90-min DMT program was offered to the intervention group twice weekly for 3 weeks. The intervention comprised a physical and a psychotherapeutic component based on the humanistic client-centered approach with an emphasis on mutual support, stress management, and self-understanding. A total of 138 breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (mean age = 48.9 years, SD = 8.3) was recruited from community cancer support centers and randomized into the intervention group (N = 68) or the waitlist control group (N = 70). Participants filled in a self-report questionnaire at baseline and 3-week follow-up. Psychological distress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Latent growth modeling was used to model the change in perceived stress, anxiety, and depression across the two time points between two groups. Controlling for confounders such as demographic characteristics and health behaviors, the intervention group reported a significant decrease in perceived stress relative to the waitlist control group (group 9 time effect = -1.36, standard error (SE) = 0.60, p.05). No significant differences were observed for anxiety (group 9 time effect = -0.10, SE = 0.39, p[.05) and depression (group 9 time effect = -0.46, SE = 0.43, p[.05). The results suggested that dance/movement psychotherapy may have therapeutic effects in reducing the perceived stress among breast cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. This study is supported by the Research Grants Council General Research Fund (HKU745110H) and Hong Kong Cancer Fund.