Hypnosis a Powerful Tool in Complementary Cancer Care.
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 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 mesothelioma treatments, 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, Grune & Stratton, 1967.
Sunnen, Gerard M.D. , Hypnotic Approaches in the Cancer Patient Ozonics International, LLC.
