Email This Page to a Friend Oncology Nursing Forum The Effects of Foot Reflexology on Anxiety and Pain in Patients With Breast and Lung Cancer January/February 2000, Volume 27, Number 1 Nancy L.N. Stephenson, PhD, RN, CS, Sally P. Weinrich, RN, PhD, FAAN, and Abbas S. Tavakoli, DrPH Abstract Key Points Reflexology Methods Results Discussion References Abstract Purpose/Objectives: To test the effects of foot reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients with breast and lung cancer. Design: Quasi-experimental, pre/post, crossover. Setting: A medical/oncology unit in a 314-bed hospital in the southeastern United States. Sample: Twenty-three inpatients with breast or lung cancer. The majority of the sample were female, Caucasian, and 65 years or older; had 12 or fewer years of education and an annual income of $20,000 or more; and were receiving regularly scheduled opioids and adjuvant medications on the control and intervention day. Methods: Procedures included an intervention condition (foot reflexology to both feet for 30 minutes total by a certified reflexologist) and a control condition for each patient (with at least a two-day break). No changes were made in patients' regular schedule or medications. Main Research Variables: Anxiety and pain. Findings: Following the foot reflexology intervention, patients with breast and lung cancer experienced a significant decrease in anxiety. One of three pain measures showed that patients with breast cancer experienced a significant decrease in pain.