ABSTRACT

Ten years ago, I found myself in a locus where the application of meditative practices meets the treatment of people with cancer. After a year of facilitating meditation at The Place of Wellness (now Integrative Medicine Center) in the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson), Dr Lorenzo Cohen, a behavioural researcher there, asked me to propose a research ‘intervention’ based on Tibetan mind-body practices that could be applied for people with cancer. After asking approval and support from my Tibetan teachers, Yongdzin Tenzin Namdak and Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, I joined a research team, led by Dr Cohen, with the aim of investigating the possible effects of a Tibetan mind-body intervention for people with cancer.