Crying Therapy Intervention for Breast Cancer Survivors: Development and Effects

Hye-Sun Byun, Hyenam Hwang and Gyung-Duck Kim
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Hye-Sun Byun: School of Nursing, Yeungnam University College, Daegu 42415, Korea
Hyenam Hwang: Department of Nursing, Daegu University, Daegu 42400, Korea
Gyung-Duck Kim: Department of Nursing, Dongyang University, Kyungpook 36040, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: Background: crying therapy is currently being applied in some countries to treat cancer patients, manage pain, and promote mental health. However, little nursing and medical research on the effects of crying therapy has been conducted in other parts of the world. This study aimed to develop a crying therapy program for breast cancer survivors and assess its effects. Interventions/method: data from 27 breast cancer survivors in South Korea were analyzed. The intervention, employing a single group, pre-post-test quasi-experimental design, was divided into three phases, and effects were verified for emotional (distress, fatigue, and mood conditions) and physiological (cortisol, immunoglobulin G, and blood pressure) variables. Results: there were significant changes in distress, mood changes, and immunoglobulin G and smaller changes in blood pressure postintervention. Fatigue and cortisol showed no significant changes. Conclusions: this study demonstrated the effectiveness of a short-term crying therapy program that can induce positive emotional changes and physiological effects in breast cancer survivors. This intervention can improve quality of life, indicating its value as a self-care program for cancer survivors.

Keywords: crying therapy intervention; breast cancer; quasi-experiment; stress alleviation; positive emotional change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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