Can Guided Imagery and Support Help Me?

— -- Question: Can guided imagery and support help my immune function?

Answer: We did a pilot study at M.D. Anderson looking at women who had been treated for breast cancer and randomized them to either have visual imagery, support groups or the standard postoperative follow-up. And what we found was that women who were in the visual imagery group did have some changes in their immune function, but it did not reach clinical significance.

However, when we did a quality of life questionnaire, what we found is those women who participated in the visual imagery or a support group, scored much higher in terms of quality of life. And therefore it may be important to have that positive attitude or reduction in stress. We can't say that it will necessarily improve the immune function but it does improve quality of life.

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