According the the National Cancer Institute's CAM Report of 2005, there are approximately 10.5 million cancer survivors in America and millions more who have exceeded life expectancies. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies have been used in prevention, as an adjunctive treatment, to prolong life and offset the harsh side effects of cancer treatments, providing hope and better quality of life to many cancer sufferers.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback methods use special monitoring devices which display heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, sweating and muscle tension with the addition of a moderator to oversee the patient and the machine. With practice, the patient learns to modify behaviors and regulate the body's response in order to regulate physiological responses to pain and stress. According to "The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty," this method can help the patient regulate pain response and reduce the stress involved with cancer-related treatment procedures.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a physical state of deep relaxation. The technique can result in patients being more open and susceptible to the power of suggestion. Patients have the opportunity to clear their minds of clutter, and both select and direct their attention towards a specific goal, thought, memory, feeling or sensation while all of the distracting material is blocked. "The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty" notes that the use of hypnosis is believed to help cancer patients overcome fears and anxieties, reduce stress, enhance the immune system by increasing the state of relaxation, and relieve pain.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training (PMRT)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training (PMRT) is based on the original concept in the 1938 book, "Progressive Relaxation," which proposed a method of repetitive muscle tensing and relaxing. With closed eyes, the patient spends about 30 minutes alternating stress and tension groups specific to one muscle area, relieving tightness and strain throughout the entire body.
Relationships and Spirituality
The thought of a higher power or spiritual world can become a healthy and hopeful means of coping. "The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul" posits that meditation and spiritual practice (with or without religion) is a beneficial means of reducing anxiety and stress, as well as promoting positive thinking, and can ultimately build or strengthen relationships. By building or maintaining important relationships and socially supportive networks (i.e., friends, family, clergy, church groups), a cancer patient can find some solace and the strength to continue fighting for survival.
Guided Imagery
Guided imagery is also referred to as "Bensonian Relaxation." Using the power of imagination to reduce anxious moods brought about by cancer treatments, pain is reduced and focus is redirected to more positive subjects. As the mind changes focus to a more positive scenario, the anxiety and stress associated with the treatment process is reduced, thereby reducing the pain response.
Breathwork
The National Pain Foundation suggests breathwork as a method of controlling both breakthrough pain in advanced stages of cancer, as well as pain in general, by simply changing the patient's focus to deep breathing techniques. The dilation of constricted blood vessels during the pain response reduces the tension in the muscles and provides a safe distraction during cancer treatments.
References
- "Progressive Relaxation"; Jacobsen, E; 1938
- National Pain Foundation: Guided Imagery and Pain Relief
- National Pain Foundation: With Every Breath We Take
- "The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul"; Beauregard and O'Leary; 2007
- "The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty"; Holland and Lewis; 2000
