A qualitative study on mindfulness-based stress reduction for breast cancer patients: how women experience participating with fellow patients

Purpose
Peer support groups for cancer patients show mixed findings regarding effectiveness on psychological wellbeing. When embedded in a psychosocial intervention, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), peer support might be of more benefit to participants. This study is a qualitative exploration of how women with breast cancer experience the possible benefits and impediments of participating with fellow patients in an MBSR training.

Methods
Five focus groups (n = 37) and three individual interviews (n = 3) were conducted with breast cancer patients who participated in MBSR. The qualitative data were analysed with the constant comparative method in order to develop a grounded theory.

Results
We could identify a process where at the start of MBSR, patients experienced anticipatory fear for facing the suffering of fellow patients, especially for those who could not be cured anymore. In most women, this fear gradually subsided during the first two sessions. The atmosphere in the MBSR training was experienced as safe and supportive, providing a context where participants could connect with and trust one another. In turn, this facilitated participants to learn from one another.

Conclusions
Our findings do not only show that the peer group facilitates the learning process in MBSR, but the MBSR also seemed to provide an atmosphere that promotes the experienced social support in participants. In addition, the results emphasize the importance for mindfulness teachers to acknowledge and explore the fear for facing fellow patients in the group. Future research should examine whether the results are generalizable to patients with other cancer types.