The effects of mindfulness meditation combined with happiness therapy on the psychological status and survival of patients with middle and advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention on psychological resilience, negative emotions, and overall well-being of subjects with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in middle and advanced stages utilizing happiness therapy combined with positive thinking-meditation expected to provide a basis for clinical psychological intervention. Methods: One hundred patients with stage III/IV SCLC were chosen as the study population. The participants were assigned into two groups randomly, depending on a random number table: a control cohort (n = 50) and an intervention cohort (n = 50). The control group received systemic anti-tumour therapy and daily care, while the intervention group received an additional 4-week psychosocial intervention of happiness therapy and positive thinking meditation on top of the systemic anti-tumour therapy and daily care. The study used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Psychological Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the General Well-Being Scale (GWB) as assessment tools to comprehensively evaluate psychological state before and after therapy, respectively. Patients in the 2 groups were also reviewed at a 6-month follow-up to record progression-free survival (PFS) in both groups. Results: Data analysis illustrated that following intervention, the psychological resilience score (78.30 ± 8.47) and the general well-being score (81.06 ± 3.43) of the patients within the intervention cohort were significantly higher than the control (t = −11.13, −10.14, P < 0.001). Anxiety and depression scores in patients of the intervention group (17.80 ± 3.47) were notably lower than those in the control group (t = 5.30, P < 0.001), and there was a different median progression-free survival (PFS) time (171.00 vs. 219.00 days, P = 0.037). Conclusion: Present study demonstrated that happiness therapy combined with positive thinking meditation as psychological intervention can improve psychological resilience caused by middle- and late-stage NSCLC effectively, reduce their negative emotions, significantly enhance their overall sense of well-being, delay disease progression.