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At first, this proved to be a challenge for Schneider. “We just screened a lot of them,” she said. “We found some at Best Buy. Sometimes, patients suggest programs.” Schneider screens out any with sex or violence.

The headset weighs 8 ounces, with goggles in front of the eyes and two little blinders on the sides, so that the wearer is focusing on what would be on a computer screen. Most patients who wear prescription glasses have been able to wear the goggles over them, Schneider said.

Schneider rejected some headsets that look more like helmets than goggles. “We still wanted nurses to be able to observe facial changes that might indicate distress during their chemotherapy treatment,” she said.

The results of the first study showed that women who used virtual reality during chemotherapy treatments reported significant decreases in symptom distress and fatigue immediately after treatment. Anxiety levels were not directly affected by the intervention, the researchers found.

“Our data show a drop in anxiety levels directly after the treatment, but we attributed this to the patient’s relief about the treatment being over,” Schneider said. “However, one added benefit was that the virtual reality seemed to make patients feel as though time was moving faster.

“For example, on average, a chemotherapy treatment might last 67 minutes, but patients would perceive that it lasted only 42 minutes.”

Schneider believes that these results came from patients filling out questionnaires during the course of treatment. She didn’t gather physiological evidence, though.

“We don’t know what the physiological response from virtual reality should be,” Schneider said. “I’m hypothesizing that we aren’t inducing a relaxation response. People are remaining engaged and involved in an activity. That means, for some folks, their blood pressure would go up.”

This contrasts with some other treatments such as music or guided imagery, where researchers know there’s a relaxation response. Another wrinkle: Attaching a monitor to a patient can induce its own burden.

Based on the survey results, “We were able to say with 90 percent certainty that virtual reality helped,” Schneider said. Not all patients benefited, however. “Of 20 women, I’m guessing seven or eight did really well, the treatment didn’t do anything at all for five of them and the rest are in the middle.”

Cost considerations

In a budget-strapped health care world, cost is a consideration. Spreading all costs over a year, Schneider figures each treatment’s cost at about $5, based on a $1,000 laptop computer, a $600 headset and some software used in a treatment room by four patients a week.

Also, in the study with older women, their anxiety levels actually did drop, Schneider said. “I think we need to study it further,” she said.

For some patients, movies, guided imagery or merely reading a book can produce solid benefits without resorting to virtual reality, Schneider said.

“Some people, such as those who can read a book in a subway station, might not need virtual reality,” she said. “Others, who are hyper-aware of their surroundings, may really benefit from virtual reality as a distraction intervention.” Ninety-five percent of the initial group studied said they would be willing to use it again.

There’s a benefit to using a laptop computer instead of merely hooking up the headset to a desktop computer as its only display. “Often, the laptop is helpful so family members can see what their loved ones are seeing,” Schneider said.

A new study under way at Duke aims to broaden the initial results in several ways. First, the group is larger—120 patients. It also adds into the mix patients who are men and who may have lung or colorectal cancer.

All patients are older than 21. Younger patients aren’t being studied because the Duke infusion room treats only adults. Also, children with cancer are rare.

Duke is midway through signing up the patients needed for the larger study. Schneider would like to finish collecting data by the end of this year and to publish the next set of results early next year.

Word of the results is sparking interest at other cancer centers. “I’ve had several clinics call,” Schneider said. “All the equipment I use is commercially available.”

One program Schneider uses, “Titanic: Adventure Out of Time,” is available from Barracuda Inc. of Encinitas, Calif.

“If some hospitals or clinics can use a copy here or there, we’ll be happy to help,” Barracuda president Michael Kaye said.

As for Oakley, she continues chemotherapy until March 9. “I don’t use it for each treatment, now that I’m taking a different chemotherapy,” she said. “They’re giving me a medication that makes me very sleepy and now I’m sleeping.”

Contact Scott Mace at scottmace@wiredmuse.com.