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Case report
Mindful breathing for suffering
  1. Yu Zhen Tung and
  2. Seng Beng Tan
  1. Department of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
  1. Correspondence to Professor Seng Beng Tan, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia; pramudita_1{at}hotmail.com

Abstract

We present a case of a 64-year-old woman with stage 1 breast cancer. She underwent a modified radical mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy. She reported physical and psychosocial suffering due to her disease and treatment. Four weekly sessions of guided 30-min mindful breathing were delivered by the palliative care team to ease her suffering. The patient reported feelings of calmness, peace and relaxation after each session, with decrease in suffering, negative emotions and physical discomfort. This is the first report on the use of guided 30-min mindful breathing in palliating suffering of a patient with cancer.

  • cancer
  • psychological care
  • quality of life
  • supportive care
  • symptoms and symptom management

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002373

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors SBT and YZT: idea for the article, identify case and guarantor. SBT and YZT: literature search and writing article.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.