Expressive Writing Improves Quality of Life in Cancer Patients
Posted on: Saturday, 22 March 2008, 12:05 CDT
A new study shows that cancer patients who keep a journal of their deepest fears about the disease experience a higher quality of life.
The study was conducted by Nancy Morgan, a "writing clinician" who worked with patients at a Washington DC cancer clinic.
Half of the participants said the exercise changed their thoughts about the illness, and younger patients, along with those recently diagnosed, derived the most benefit.
Morgan’s 20-minute "expressive writing" exercise questioned leukemia and lymphoma patients about how the cancer had changed them, and how they felt about those changes.
During a follow up survey a few weeks later, 49% of the participants said the writing had changed their thoughts about their illness, while 38% said their feelings towards their situation had changed.
Although no conclusive evidence exists about the direct impact of the sessions, patients who reported the greatest changes in their mindset during the writing could be linked to more positive quality of life reports given to their doctors during follow-up appointments.
"Thoughts and feelings, or the cognitive processing and emotions related to cancer, are key writing elements associated with health benefits, according to previous studies,” Ms. Morgan said.
"Writing only about the facts has shown no benefit."
Lombardi’s head of hematology, Dr Bruce Cheson, told BBC News, "I'm pleased to see that so many of our patients were interested in this kind of therapy.
"Our study supports the benefit of an expressive writing program and the ability to integrate such a program into a busy clinic."
The study was published in the journal The Oncologist. The full report can be viewed here.
Source: redOrbit staff and wire reports
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Posted by Marcielle Brandler on 03/23/2008, 10:00 I teach poetry workshops to children and to adults. I have found that teaching poetry writing improves literacy. Marcielle Brandler Thank you, Marcielle Brandler appears in 2005-07 Who's Who in the World. She obtained her Master’s Degree in Professional Writing and Poetry in 1994. Her poems have been translated into Czech, French, Arabic, and Spanish, and published internationally. While in Buenos Aires, she finished her book of poems, The Breathing House and read her work there. Her poem, “Eden," won First Place in Mt. San Antonio College’s 1997 Writers Day Festival. Her poem, “The Civilian, The Siege, was praised by the LA Weekly’s Evelyn McDonnell, as one of the best in the CD anthology called Disclosure. Her public Access TV show called Marcielle Presents! airs on Time Warner stations and she is the creator and host of Ambassadors of Delight at Cafe Culture in Pasadena, CA. Her public access TV show is called, Marcielle Presents! She was recently a judge for the PTA Poetry Contest. Visit her website at |
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