Abstract
Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, affecting their mental and social health and quality of life. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy (ACT) on the severity of pain and quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Methods: This research had a semi-experimental pre-test and post-test design with a control group, which, using the convenience sampling method, selected 30 patients with breast cancer and randomly assigned them to the experimental and control groups. During the two months, the experimental group underwent eight 90-minute sessions of ACT-based group therapy. The scores of Cleeland's severity of pain and Arenson’s quality of life questionnaires before and after the intervention were collected from two experimental and control groups and analyzed using SPSS 20. Results: The findings showed that treatment based on ACT significantly reduced pain and increased quality of life in the experimental group compared to the control group in the postoperative stage. Conclusions: Considering the findings and observed efficacy, this method can effectively reduce pain and improve the quality of life of patients with breast cancer. Therefore, it is advisable to use this method along with medical therapies by establishing counseling centers in specialty hospitals and cancer clinics.