Our Mission
The Radical Remission Foundation’s mission is to advance the education and support scientific research on the topic of radical remissions.
Harvard Publishes Results on Radical Remission Study
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - NOV 1, 2024
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Harvard Study Shows Mind-Body Program Improves Cancer Patients' Quality of Life for at least 6 Months
BOSTON, MA — A groundbreaking study led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has demonstrated that a mind-body intervention program improves the quality of life for cancer patients, with benefits lasting at least six months after the intervention.
The research results, published in the 2024;23 issue of Integrative Cancer Therapies found that participants in the Radical Remission Multimodal Intervention (RRMI) workshops showed a 7.7% improvement in overall quality of life, as measured by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp), after 1 month, increasing to 10.8% after 6 months. This benefit was seen across demographics, including gender, ethnicity, BMI, and age.
"This pilot study provides supporting evidence to the scientific community that simple lifestyle changes can be taught to cancer patients in a short and effective way that leads to positive effects on their quality of life, lasting at least 6 months," said lead author Junaidah Barnett of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Department of Nutrition, and of Health and Healing Research Education and Service.
The RRMI workshop, offered in-person over 2 days or online over 6 weeks (2 hrs/wk) covers:
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Healthy diet & exercise lifestyle changes
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Numerous emotional well-being exercises
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Life purpose & social support exercises, and
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Secular, mindfulness meditation practices
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Importantly, both online and in-person RRMI workshops produced comparable results, highlighting accessibility for patients regardless of location or mobility limitations. This supports the possibility of widespread, cost-effective implementation both nationally and globally. The RRMI comprises the key lifestyle factors that Dr. Kelly A. Turner of the Radical Remission Project identified in her research on Radical Remission survivors.
Turner shared, "Thousands of RRMI participants reported in their evaluation forms, upon completion of the RRMI, that the intervention has helped improve the quality of their lives and their coping ability to live with cancer." Findings from the present work, in addition to Turner's report, suggest that the RRMI has the potential to guide cancer patients through their cancer recovery journey, giving them hope for a favorable outcome.
Lead author Junaidah Barnett also indicated that she wanted to conduct the pilot study as she believes that the body is designed to heal itself, but it needs the proper tools to make that happen. “Dr. Turner has done the work of identifying these tools (also called lifestyle changes or healing factors) based on her research on people who have successfully healed their cancer. Turner has also developed the intervention (RRMI) for people with cancer. Thus, the natural next step is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on cancer patients in a pilot study, and if successful, to design a randomized controlled trial," said Junaidah Barnett.
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"While the overall results are positive and promising, a larger randomized controlled trial would be invaluable for verifying these findings and identifying the subgroups that benefit most," said senior author Wei Wang of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Junaidah Barnett added, "Such a trial would not only assess the impact of the RRMI workshops on the quality of life of cancer patients, but also its effects on cancer biomarkers".
“In my experience, people living with cancer always appreciate learning things they can do for themselves to improve their health and well-being,” said Michelle Holmes of the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, also the manuscript's senior author.
In addition to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, and Health and Healing Research Education and Service, the research team included experts with multiple affiliations, including Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Georgetown University School of Health, Brandeis University Schneider Institutes for Health Policy, Imperial College London School of Public Health, Simmons University, Wisdom Health and Wellbeing, RWJBarnabas Health, Atlantic Health System, Millenium Prevention, and Vital Force Health Care LLC.
This pilot study represents an important step forward in understanding how integrative approaches to cancer care can improve patients' overall well-being. The findings suggest that incorporating RRMI workshops into routine cancer care could complement standard oncological treatments, potentially supporting improved health outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.
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For more information, please contact:
Barbara Teszler | TeszlerPR.com | 949.545.7195 (o) | 714.423.3816 (c) Barbara@TeszlerPR.com
Donate
Donate to support the Radical Remission Foundation:
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We welcome your donations to support the next step after this successful pilot study, which will be a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Your donations to our 501c3 non- profit organization, The Radical Remission Foundation, are fully tax-deductible.
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In addition to supporting radical remission research, our Foundation also offers scholarships to those in need of financial support in order to participate in a Radical Remission Workshop. We believe that our curriculum should be accessible to everyone who needs it.
Thank you for your support, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@radicalremission.org if you have any questions.
The Research Team
Dr. Michelle Holmes is the Principal Investigator of the Radical Remission Multimodal Intervention Study. She is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate professor in the department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. Her research interests include lifestyle factors (diet, weight change, physical activity, and psychosocial factors, common medications like aspirin) affecting quality of life and survival after a cancer diagnosis, as well as the association between diet and breast cancer risk. Other research interests include diet and lifestyle influences on endogenous levels of steroid hormones and insulin-like growth factors, and ethnic differences in obesity and other lifestyle factors affecting chronic disease risk. She co-edited a book on nutrition for cancer survivors published by the American Cancer Society. She has worked with the Nurses’ Health Study since 1997. Since 2007 she has helped to design a collaborative longitudinal study of non-communicable disease (obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer) at 5 sites in sub-Saharan Africa, called the Africa / Harvard School of Public Health Partnership for Cohort Research and Training (PaCT). Since 2015 she is the co-Principal Investigator of the Aspirin for Breast Cancer Trial (abctrial.org), testing whether treating breast cancer patients with aspirin will prevent their breast cancer from recurring.
Dr. Junaidah Barnett is the co-Principal Investigator of the Radical Remission Multimodal Intervention Study. She is currently affiliated with the Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition. Dr. Barnett’s research interests include determining the impact of diet, lifestyle, the environment, and other factors, on maintenance of optimal health, prevention of diseases, and optimization of healing from diseases. As Principal Investigator/Project Director and/or co-Investigator, Dr. Barnett has successfully designed and conducted over 20 studies. Her research has focused on the associations of foods, food groups, dietary patterns, macro- and micro-nutrients, as well as other lifestyle factors, including physical activity, on various chronic and infectious diseases, and their risk factors. Studies conducted previously included community needs assessment; randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled nutrition intervention; well-controlled diet; cross-sectional; nutrition education; dietary and physical activity validation; as well as epidemiological studies in populations of diverse demographic, ethnic and age groups (18 to 90 years; N~30-800/study). The geographical areas where these studies have been conducted include Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, as well as nationally (the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study), and internationally in the Philippines, West Malaysia, and Singapore. As Principal Investigator, Dr. Barnett is currently evaluating the effect of the Nutrition Intervention Program of the Hebrew Senior Life Healthy Living Center of Excellence (HLCE) on the quality of life and dietary intake of participants.
About the Radical Remission Foundation
The Radical Remission Foundation was founded by Kelly Turner, PhD, author of the New York Times bestseller Radical Remission, along with a Board of Directors, in order to promote further scientific research on radical remission cases, in the hopes of deepening our understanding of cancer etiology, prevention, and remission. To learn more about Kelly’s work at the Radical Remission Project, including related books, docuseries, films, and more, please visit www.radicalremission.com.
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The Radical Remission Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the state of New York. Our federal tax ID number is 82-4453041, and your donations are fully tax-deductible. Please consider donating today!
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