Elsevier

Clinical Breast Cancer

Volume 19, Issue 2, April 2019, Pages e319-e326
Clinical Breast Cancer

Original Study
A Prospective Cohort Study on the Impact of Reflexology in Patients With Breast Cancer Using the MYCaW Scale

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clbc.2018.12.007Get rights and content

Abstract

Introduction

Breast cancer treatment and recovery remain physically and psychologically challenging for patients. Reflexology has been studied as a complementary therapy to help relieve patients of the physical and psychological stresses involved with breast cancer. As a result of recent positive evidence, we studied its effects quantitatively from 2015 to 2016.

Patients and Methods

Fifty-two patients completed pre- and post-reflexology intervention ‘Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing’ (MYCaW) questionnaires. Patients were subdivided into breast cancer (BC) and non-breast cancer (NBC) groups. Concerns raised were subdivided in subcategory groups as per MYCaW guidelines and analyzed for improvements in each domain.

Results

Thirty (57.7%) patients in the BC group and 22 (42.3%) patients in the NBC group were analyzed. In the BC group, there was a 46.2% improvement in patients’ concerns, and in the NBC group, a 41.4% improvement in concerns were noted. Overall, the symptoms improved by 44.2% (P < .0001). There was an improvement of 43.4% in patient well-being in the BC group, and a 37.8% change in the NBC group, signifying a total improvement in well-being of 41.2%. There was an improvement of 46.4% in the MYCaW scores; 46.4% in the BC group and 42.6% in the NBC group, signifying a combined average improvement of 42.4%. Patients with poor energy level, sleep problems, stress and tension, and hot flushes and sweats experienced the most improvement in their concerns.

Conclusions

Our findings show that reflexology has significantly improved patient-reported outcomes using the MYCaW scale. These findings are encouraging and reflect that increased attention to strategies focusing on improving psychological well-being can help patients in managing their symptoms.

Section snippets

Background

It is widely accepted that practices akin to reflexology have been employed since ancient times; modern reflexology, however, dates back to the work of William Fitzgerald in the 20th century, the practice of which was further developed in the 1930s by Eunice Ingham who named the practice “Reflexology”. The technique is based on the principle that ‘reflex’ areas or points on the feet and hands connect to corresponding areas and organs throughout the body. Reflexologists stimulate these areas by

Patients and Methods

Patients underwent 6 sessions of reflexology, each lasting 45 minutes. The patients were invited to relax on a reclining chair or treatment couch, or to put their feet up on a footstool. The feet were then cleansed at the start of the treatment, after which the reflexology zones on the feet were stimulated as per standard protocol by a single reflexologist.

The ‘Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing’ (MYCaW) questionnaire was deemed to be the most suitable tool of evaluating the service. It is

Referral Process

On reviewing the referral forms, it was found that patients were referred for reflexology largely by their breast care nurse or their consultant; more specifically, 39% were referred by their breast care nurse, 30% by their consultant clinician, 12% by the family history nurse, and 19% by an unknown referrer. Referral forms were analyzed with correlating MYCaW forms to determine if the reason for referral to the service by the referrer matched the patient’s concern. It was found that of those

Discussion

On average, our results show statistically significant improvements in both groups: 42.4% in the MYCaW score, 41.2% in the well-being scores, and 44.2% in the concern scores highlighted by patients. Results for the breast cancer group seemed to be more substantial than for the NBC group (MYCaW score, 46.8% vs. 40.0%; Well-being, 43.4% vs. 37.8%; Concern, 46.2% vs. 41.4%, for the breast cancer and NBC groups, respectively); however, on comparative analysis between both groups, the improvement in

Disclosure

The authors have stated that they have no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

This research project was funded by The Breast Unit Charity, part of the Princess Alexandra Hospital Charity. Registration No. 1054745.

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