Comparing the Impact of Four Types of Meditation Practices for Relaxation in Cancer Survivors

Inclusion Criteria

• Documented written informed consent of the participant
• Age: ≥ 18 years
• Ability to understand and fluently speak English or Spanish
• No previous training in mind-body relaxation techniques including meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, guided imagery, mindfulness-based stress reduction, hypnosis, or cognitive behavior therapy, that exceeds 3 hours. Additionally, no regular practice of mind-body relaxation techniques, or formal experience with mind-body relaxation techniques within the past 12 months
• Visual Analog Scale (VAS) anxiety score of > 3 from a range from 0 to 10. A “0” means the lowest anxiety score and a “10” means the highest anxiety score
• Long-term cancer survivors who received surgery to treat their cancer ( > 6 months since last treatment) with no history of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other systemic therapy (e.g., hormonal therapy) and/or have completely recovered from surgery OR patients identified as having pre-cancerous lesions that have been surgically treated (e.g., colon polyp that has been removed)
• Willingness to: * Provide salivary alpha-amylase sample * Complete stress tests and study questionnaires * Be monitored with a Bispectral Index (BIS) device

Exclusion Criteria

• Inability to complete study required time and procedures as outlined in the study procedures section of the protocol
• Must not have had previous serious illnesses that affect neurological functioning such as strokes, heart attacks, Parkinson disease, etc
• Ongoing active psychiatric condition, depressive/bi-polar related disorders, anxiety, psychosis disorders, or substance use that may interfere with the study including panic disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disease
• Active cancer
• Cancer survivors who have received chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or any other systemic treatment (e.g., hormonal therapy)
• Women who are pregnant