Psychological Interventions to Prevent Late Effects in Breast Cancer

Pre- and Post-operative Psychological Interventions to Prevent Pain and Fatigue After Breast Cancer Surgery: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The study aims to investigate whether a combined pre-operative medical hypnosis plus a post-operative internet-based acceptance and commitment intervention are more effective in preventing post-surgical pain and fatigue following breast cancer surgery compared with pre-operative mindfulness plus treatment as usual.

The trial will include 200 patients undergoing breast cancer surgery at Oslo University Hospital. The patients will be randomized into two groups. One group will receive a 20 minute pre-surgical hypnosis session delivered by an experienced clinical psychologist plus a post-surgical internet-based acceptance and commitment intervention. The control group will receive a 20 minute pre-surgical mindfulness session delivered through an audio recording plus treatment as usual. The primary outcomes of the study are quantitative measures of post-surgical pain and fatigue. In addition, relationships between biomarkers of stress and subacute post-surgical pain and fatigue will be analyzed using using blood- and hair samples. The study uses a longitudinal design with baseline measures obtained pre-surgery and follow up measures obtained 3 and 12 months post-surgery.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women diagnosed with breast cancer and scheduled for surgery
• Be able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Insufficient Norwegian speaking or writing skills to participate in the interventions and fill out questionnaires
• Cognitive and psychiatric impairment
• Other serious malignancies