Hypnosis a Powerful Tool in Complementary Cancer Care
By, Jack Bleeker
February 9, 2010
Complementary therapies, while not given the attention that
more traditional cancer therapies may receive, are perhaps
equally important while undergoing treatment for certain
types of cancer. Patients diagnosed with difficult to treat
malignancies will often use these types of therapies in
conjunction with traditional surgical, chemotherapeutic, or
radiology techniques to form a more comprehensive and
effective treatment regimen. Among the most important and
effective alternative therapies utilized by those diagnosed
with cancer is hypnotherapy.
Hypnotherapy has been used for many years in clinical
settings. Hypnotherapy’s role in cancer management however,
is relatively new and indications are that its utilization
has not been fully maximized yet. Effective cancer treatment
often depends on the patient’s ability to not only defeat
the cancer through treatments but also to maintain their
health and mental spirit throughout the painful side effects
of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.
Often, the symptoms and effects of the cancer itself on the
body are negligible compared to the pain and other side
effects of chemotherapy and radiation. This is where
acupuncture has been said to be most effective. Cancers such
as mesothelioma, which are often unable to be removed by
surgical means, are often treated with some combination of
chemotherapy and radiation. While these potent therapies can
be effective in eliminating some of the tumor mass and
growth, they also profoundly affect the health of the
surrounding tissue. Symptoms of these effects including
fever, nausea, and general pain have been dramatically
reduced through the utilization of hypnosis. Patients, who
are able to withstand these symptoms and recover quickly,
will often be able to be more aggressively treated,
increasing the efficacy of the treatment regimen as a whole.
Some specific hypnotherapy techniques utilized in pain
management for
mesothelioma cancer patients, include altering the
neurophysical configuration of pain, control of anticipatory
anxiety, and targeted imagery.
Hypnotherapy techniques may not be appropriate for all
patient’s pain and individual symptoms but it’s certainly
worth exploring as it can do very little harm in
experimenting with integrative therapies. The goal with
alternative therapies, as with traditional therapies, is
always to increase the effectiveness of treatment as a
whole. If hypnotherapy can assist in any way in helping
patients recover or manage symptoms of chemotherapy or
radiation, then it will have contributed to the treatment
regimens overall efficacy and should certainly be utilized.
References
Erickson MH: Hypnosis in painful terminal illness, in Haley
J (ed): Advanced Techniques of Hypnosis and Therapy:
Selected Papers of Milton Erickson, MD. New York, Crune
& Stratton, 1967.
Sunnen,
Gerard M.D. , Hypnotic Approaches in the Cancer Patient
Ozonics International, LLC