Kristine Kwekkeboom and her team from The University of Iowa College of Nursing studied which variables predicted the successful use of guided imagery as a pain management strategy for cancer patients..

Kristine Kwekkeboom and her team from The University of Iowa College of Nursing have been studying predictors of the successful use of guided imagery for some time now. This pilot study, with a one-group pretest-posttest design, examines whether peoples’ ability to effectively use imagery as a pain management strategy can be predicted for individual cancer patients.

The effects of guided imagery on comfort of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy.

Katherine Kolcaba, PhD, RN (U of Akron) and Christine Fox, PhD, (U of Toledo) found guided imagery to be an effective intervention for increasing comfort and reducing anxiety in 53 women with early stage breast cancer undergoing Radiation Therapy. The investigators designed and recorded imagery specifically for this study. Subjects were most likely to listen just before a treatment.

Citation: Kolcaba K, Fox C. The effects of guided imagery on comfort of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy. Oncol Nurs Forum. 1999 Jan-Feb; 26(1):67-72

Coping, life attitudes, and the immune responses to imagery and group support after breast cancer treatment.

Blair Justice, Mary Ann Richardson and their cohorts at the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health, conducted a pilot study to differentiate the effects of imagery vs. support on coping, attitude, immune function and emotional well-being after breast cancer. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: standard care, weekly support (for 6 weeks) or imagery sessions (for 6 weeks).  

Katherine Kolcaba, PhD, RN (U of Akron) and Christine Fox, PhD, (U of Toledo) found guided imagery to be an effective intervention for increasing comfort and reducing anxiety in 53 women with early stage breast cancer undergoing Radiation Therapy. The investigators designed and recorded imagery specifically for this study. Subjects were most likely to listen just before a treatment.

Citation: Kolcaba K, Fox C. The effects of guided imagery on comfort of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy. Oncol Nurs Forum. 1999 Jan-Feb; 26(1):67-72

The effects of a 6 week psychosocial intervention group on the survival of 21 breast cancer and 29 prostate cancer patients in rural Pennsylvania.

The 6 2-hour class topics emphasized imagery and stress reduction techniques, along with covering attitudes, feelings, self-esteem, spirituality, nutrition and exercise.

The intervention group lived significantly longer than the matched controls, suggesting that short-term psychosocial interventions that encourage the expression of feeling, provide social support and teach coping skills can influence survival. But Self-selection for these groups could have biased this sample.

Citation: Schrock D, Palmer R, Taylor B. Alternative Therapies in Health & Medicine, May, 1999; Vol 5, #3:49-55.

Preparing patients for cancer chemotherapy: effect of coping preparation and relaxation interventions.

Burish, Snyder and Jenkins, the highly regarded Vanderbilt University team known for its many studies of imagery and chemotherapy, assessed the effectiveness of biofeedback and relaxation training in reducing the aversive side effects of cancer chemotherapy on 81 patients.  

In this prospective, longitudinal, correlative study, 22 patients with varying kinds of medically incurable, metastatic cancer were followed for one year, as they engaged in weekly group psychological therapy.