OBJECTIVE: The study purpose was to test the effectiveness of a psychological 
intervention combining cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis (CBTH) to treat 
radiotherapy-related fatigue.
DESIGN: Women (n = 42) scheduled for breast cancer radiotherapy were randomly 
assigned to receive standard medical care (SMC) (n = 20) or a CBTH intervention 
(n = 22) in addition to SMC. Participants assigned to receive CBTH met 
individually with a clinical psychologist. CBTH participants received training 
in hypnosis and CBT. Participants assigned to the SMC control condition did not 
meet with a study psychologist.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fatigue was measured on a weekly basis by using the 
fatigue subscale of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) 
and daily using visual analogue scales.
RESULTS: Multilevel modeling indicated that for weekly FACIT fatigue data, there 
was a significant effect of the CBTH intervention on the rate of change in 
fatigue (p < .05), such that on average, CBTH participants' fatigue did not 
increase over the course of treatment, whereas control group participants' 
fatigue increased linearly. Daily data corroborated the analyses of weekly data.
CONCLUSION: The results suggest that CBTH is an effective means for controlling 
and potentially preventing fatigue in breast cancer radiotherapy patients.