Healing is a phone call away

There was also evidence that the intervention bolstered patients' immune system function, according to the study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Cervical cancer has been shown to take a particular toll on survivors' quality of life. Many women suffer prolonged depression and anxiety, as well as social, sexual and financial problems that last long after treatment has ended, said Dr. Lari Wenzel, a co-author of the study.

This may be particularly true of minority and other medically underserved women, she added.

Telephone counseling, Wenzel explained, could offer a way to reach women who typically do not get traditional face-to-face counseling – which is both less convenient and more expensive.

Wenzel and her team randomly assigned 50 cervical cancer survivors to one of two groups. One group received standard follow-up care only, while the other also received six telephone counseling sessions with a psychologist.

All of the women had completed their cancer treatment at least six months earlier.

The researchers found that women who completed phone counseling showed an improvement in their quality of life. The improvement correlated with a change in immune system activity, with blood tests showing a shift toward a type of immune response that helps suppress tumors.

Dr. Edward Nelson, a co-author of the research, said it is not clear that stress reduction led to the improved immune response. But he added that it is possible that "changes in coping and stress levels" influence the immune system.

The findings, according to the researchers, are in keeping with the general concept of the mind-body connection, which suggests that therapies aimed at changing thoughts and emotions can influence physical health as well.

The researchers have begun a larger study of 250 women to try to confirm the findings.