Addressing barriers to advance care planning by adults with advanced cancers

Addressing barriers to advance care planning by adults with advanced cancers 
Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, IN; by Shelley Johns, PsyD and Susan Hickman, PhD; 11/25/24 
In one of the first studies to test the utility of mindfulness to support advance care planning by adult cancer patients and their family caregivers, researchers from Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University have found that mindfulness showed promise in improving quality of life and advance care planning outcomes in patients and their family caregivers coping with advanced cancer. ... Mindfulness emphasizes paying attention to the present moment with an attitude of openness, compassion and interested curiosity accomplished through meditation and other exercises to manage stress. “Mindfulness is about noticing what’s here so we can choose the wisest response and hopefully be less emotionally reactive,” said Dr. Johns. “Mindfulness practices help individuals increase their mindfulness muscle, so to speak. Anything that we do in our life ... can be done with mindful focus, with mindful attention."