Healing Touch in Treating Fatigue in Women Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer

NCT ID: NCT00574145

Last Updated: 2012-09-06

Study Results

Results available

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

44 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2007-02-28

Study Completion Date

2009-04-30

Brief Summary

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RATIONALE: Healing touch therapy may be effective in lessening fatigue in women with breast cancer who are undergoing radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying how well healing touch works in treating fatigue in women undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer.

Detailed Description

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OBJECTIVES:

* To determine the ability to recruit and retain patients with breast cancer receiving curative radiotherapy in a Complementary and Alternative Medicine trial.
* To determine the acceptability of weekly healing touch therapy to patients with breast cancer who receive curative radiotherapy.
* To examine the effect of healing touch on fatigue and quality of life for patients with breast cancer receiving radiotherapy as a component of therapy.

OUTLINE: Patients are stratified by type of treatment (radiotherapy alone vs chemotherapy completed prior to radiotherapy)

* Arm I:Patients receive healing-touch therapy administered once a week for 45 minutes by a healing-touch therapist for the duration of radiotherapy.
* Arm II: Patients receive sham-therapy administered once a week for 45 minutes by a sham-practitioner (NOT a healing-touch therapist) for the duration of radiotherapy.

Patients complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and a demographic variables form (age, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment) at baseline. Patient fatigue is measured on a weekly basis throughout radiotherapy with completion of the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI). The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast form (FACT-B) is completed at baseline and the end of radiotherapy. Patients undergo a 20-minute interview at the end of study to determine the acceptability of the intervention.

Conditions

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Breast Cancer Depression Fatigue

Keywords

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fatigue depression psychosocial effects of cancer and its treatment stage I breast cancer stage II breast cancer stage IIIA breast cancer stage IIIB breast cancer stage IIIC breast cancer recurrent breast cancer

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Radiotherapy/Supportive Care (A)

Patients receive radiotherapy and healing touch therapy from a healing touch therapist once a week for the duration of their radiotherapy

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Bio-field energy therapy

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Practitioner's hands to influence the human energy field surrounding the patient's body.

fatigue assessment and management

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

duration

psychosocial assessment and care

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

duration

quality-of-life assessment

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

duration

therapeutic touch

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Practitioner's hands to influence the human energy field surrounding the patient's body

Control ARM (B)

Patients receive radiotherapy and sham healing touch therapy from a sham healing touch therapist once a week for the duration of their therapy

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

fatigue assessment and management

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

duration

psychosocial assessment and care

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

duration

quality-of-life assessment

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

duration

Interventions

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Bio-field energy therapy

Practitioner's hands to influence the human energy field surrounding the patient's body.

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

fatigue assessment and management

duration

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

psychosocial assessment and care

duration

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

quality-of-life assessment

duration

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

therapeutic touch

Practitioner's hands to influence the human energy field surrounding the patient's body

Intervention Type PROCEDURE

Other Intervention Names

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biofield therapy

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Histologically proven breast cancer
* Receiving post lumpectomy or post mastectomy radiation therapy (RT)
* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0, 1 or 2
* Prescribed a minimum of 5 weeks of RT
* Between the ages of 21 and 75
* Able to speak English.
* Provides written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Documented active psychiatric illness
* Documented cognitive impairment that would preclude the ability to provide informed consent.
* Stage IV breast cancer
* Receiving concurrent chemotherapy and RT
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

75 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Nancy Wells

Research Professor of Nursing; Director, VUMC Nursing

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Nancy Wells, DNSc, RN

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Fern Fitzhenry, PhD, RN

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Locations

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Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center - Cool Springs

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Site Status

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Franklin

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Site Status

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

Nashville, Tennessee, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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FitzHenry F, Wells N, Slater V, Dietrich MS, Wisawatapnimit P, Chakravarthy AB. A randomized placebo-controlled pilot study of the impact of healing touch on fatigue in breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Integr Cancer Ther. 2014 Mar;13(2):105-13. doi: 10.1177/1534735413503545. Epub 2013 Oct 7.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 24105358 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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VU-VICC-SUPP-0633

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: secondary_id

VICC SUPP 0633

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id