"Decades of research have shown that stress contributes to the cause and complications of cancer," said Robert Schneider, M.D., F.A.C.C., co-author and director of Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management. "The data from this well-designed clinical trial and related studies suggest that effective stress reduction with the Transcendental Meditation program may be useful in the prevention and treatment and of breast cancer and its deleterious consequences."

Maharishi University of Management

The study was supported by grants from the Retirement Research Foundation of Chicago and the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Facts on Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women-and remains a leading cause of death. Breast cancer incidence in the United States is 1 in 8 (about 13%). In 2008, an estimated 250,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in women in the U.S. Women above the age of 50 have nearly four times the incidence compared to women under 50 Newly diagnosed and long-term survivors are affected by impairment in quality of life (QOL), including emotional, physical, functional, social, and spiritual domains. Psychosocial stress contributes to the onset, progression, and mortality from this disease. Clinical diagnosis of breast cancer increases psychological distress, with sustained distress occurring during cancer treatment and continuing long-term. There have been an increasing number of women using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for female-specific cancers. In terms of breast cancer, recent studies indicate that CAM use among women may be as high as 90 percent.

Source: Saint Joseph Hospital