The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine
The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine
Long-term survival of a stage IV gastric MALT lymphoma using Meditation with Tao Calligraphy and Chanting: A Case report
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Background: Mindfulness-based interventions, such as writing or tracing Tao Calligraphy characters, have been shown to induce meditative awareness and enhance psychological and physical well-being.
Objective: This case study demonstrates the potential integrative effects of Tao Calligraphy tracing and mantra chanting, practiced alongside limited conventional therapy, in a patient with stage IV gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.
Methods: A 49-year-old female diagnosed with stage IV gastric MALT lymphoma in 2009 declined chemotherapy and received rituximab monotherapy for six weeks. Concurrently, she engaged in daily mindfulness practices, and from 2013 including Tao Calligraphy tracing and mantra chanting for approximately two hours per day, as well as participation in subtle energy transmissions and meditation events. The patient was followed for 16 years under an institutional review board-approved protocol.
Results: Following initial treatment, the patient achieved complete remission (CR) in 2009, which persisted for 4.9 years. After a relapse in 2014, a second course of rituximab again induced CR, lasting approximately 10 years until second relapse in 2025.
Conclusions: Stage IV MALT lymphoma is an adverse prognostic factor associated with a 10-year overall survival rate of around 50–60%, whereas localized disease exceeds 90%. Despite adverse features, this patient achieved two unusually prolonged remissions with rituximab alone. The integration of Tao Calligraphy tracing and mantra chanting may have contributed to improved well-being and potentially supporting sustained remission. This art-based mindfulness practice appears safe, complementary to standard therapies, and may play a role in promoting salutogenesis in oncology care.



