Supporting Women With Breast Cancer to Prepare for Treatment (The Prepare Study)

The purpose of this project is to evaluate a brief, technology-enabled mindfulness intervention before and following breast cancer surgery to determine its impact on emotional wellbeing and biological stress response in breast cancer patients. The investigators will administer self-reported questionnaires of emotional wellbeing and quality of life and collect pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines (CRP and IL-10, respectively) using a minimally invasive finger prick approach. The findings from this study will help establish an evidence base on the efficacy of a brief, technology enabled mindfulness intervention on patient anxiety, wellbeing and biological response. No previous studies have examined the impact of a brief mindfulness training prior to and following surgery on patient wellbeing. The long-term goal is to determine whether brief, technology-enabled mindfulness support can become part of routine preparation for breast cancer surgery.