Imagine surviving cancer, only to face a new, persistent battle with pain. For many survivors, this is a daily reality. A small, early-stage study asked whether a mindfulness program could help. The program, called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), was tested in three different time formats—16 hours, 8 hours, and just 2 hours—with 60 cancer survivors living with moderate-to-severe pain.
The researchers first wanted to know if the program was practical and acceptable. They found that people were willing to enroll and complete the study assessments. Interestingly, the shorter the program, the better people stuck with it—the 2-hour version had perfect attendance. When looking at pain, people in the mindfulness groups reported their pain bothered them less and felt less severe after 12 weeks compared to those on a waitlist. However, this difference wasn't strong enough to be considered statistically significant in the main comparison.
It's important to remember this was a pilot study with only 60 people. Its main goal was to see if a larger trial is worth doing, not to prove the treatment works. The results are a hopeful sign that mindfulness deserves a closer look as a tool for managing pain after cancer, but we need much larger studies to be sure.