Effect of written Exposure Therapy (WET) Vs Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction(MBSR) on Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Fear of Recurrence in Patients with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in Worldwide.A breast cancer diagnosis can be a life-changing and stressful experience that can lead to chronic mental health conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and fear of cancer recurrence(FCR). This study examined the effect of written exposure therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction on post-traumatic stress symptoms and fear of recurrence in women with Breast cancer.

Sixty females with breast cancer and clinical symptoms of PTSD referred to the Shahid Rajaei Hospital in Babolsar, Iran were randomly assigned to one of the three WET (n = 20), MBSR (n = 20) or control (n = 20) groups. WET is a 5-session low-intensity exposure-based intervention for treating PTSD. MBSR is a systematic educational program during an 8-week period. The control group had no additional contact. Measures assessing PTSD and fear of cancer recurrence were administered at baseline, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up.

Both the WET and MBSR groups achieved significant improvement in PTSD as measured by the PCL-5 with statistically significant differences between groups. However, compared with MBSR, the WET group showed a statistically significant improvement in PTSD on the self-reported PTSD Checklist over the five weeks. In addition, no differences between WET and MBSR groups were observed on the fear of recurrence.

Both WET and MBSR appear to have beneficial effects in treating PTSD ans FCR in women with breast cancer in IRAN, with greater improvement observed in self-reported PTSD symptoms in the WET group. Therefore, experts, researchers and therapists in this field can use these interventions as effective treatment options based on research evidence to improve the psychological functions of breast cancer patients along with their medical treatments and, accordingly, health indicators.