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Cancer Therapies
In the United States, Breast Cancer is second only to lung cancer as a leading cause of death among women. In Europe, it is the most common cancer affecting women, followed by bowel cancer. Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 40-55.
The general approach we take in our practice is to do our best to place our present and potential client-patients (and family) in charge of their overall health, and learn to be in charge of their bodies and treatments in conjunction with doctors and with me. Since hypnosis is a natural state and we work with the subconscious mind, I take time to educate our clients in the powers of relaxation and self-hypnosis.
To accomplish this, it may mean that I need to do everything possible to understand their feelings, fears, confusion, frustrations, hopes, and desires, as well as their physical symptoms and suffering; I need to take up their side in dealing with the disease, their doctors and the health care system – my alliance, my bond, is to them. This of course does not mean I feel what You feel, yet I can hear you, be with you, sit with you and help you through this transition in a calmer, relaxed and loving way. This disease does not change who you are but the circumstances of where you need to be.
Please note:
- The lowest breast cancer rates occur in rural China - only 11 of every 100,000 women contract breast or any other form of cancer
- Japan, it doubles to 24.3 of 100,000
- England and Wales it jumps up to 68.8 in 100,000
- Scotland 72.7 in 100,000
- Canada 76.8 in 100,000
- US whites 90.7 and US (black) 79.3 of every100,000 women (prostate cancer in US men jumps to 100.8)
Hypnosis and Relaxation
Self-hypnosis is a guide that leads you from your conscious state into a state of calm relaxation. The relaxed state allows you to develop a new perspective on your condition. Positive feelings ensue and you are better able to communicate with your body through the subconscious mind.
Instead of working through an analytical mode of thought, your mind shifts to a synesthetic mode of thinking. This allows greater communication between emotion, sensations and the body. In turn, you have greater control of your body on physical and psychological levels.
Healing Emotions
Your emotional state can serve to heal your body in many cases. The process of self-hypnosis allows you to provide the directives that lead to your progress. You conjure powerful visions, positive thoughts and images of behavioral follow through. This process evokes healing emotions that provide significant help for cancer.
Help for Cancer with Self-Hypnosis
Self-hypnosis is very effective in modulating pain. Sensations of pain are closely associated with depression and anxiety. Hypnosis can help you lessen your pain by removing the negative feelings that accompany it. This process also helps you replace pain sensations with pleasant ones.
Visualization is a powerful tool in self-hypnosis because the subconscious mind does not distinguish between reality and imagination. Self-hypnosis helps you focus on positive emotions and sensations, making them real in the mind. Your body, then, responds in kind.
You are able to get the help that you need by dealing with your discomfort directly with the symptoms. This approach supports you as you lessen feelings of fatigue and insomnia. The relaxed state also guides you to manage the side effects of treatment better. This is the ideal complementary help with cancer that benefits your mind and body.
Hypnosis ‘eases cancer op pain’
Breast cancer patients need less anesthetic during operations if they have been relaxed by hypnosis beforehand, US research suggests. Patients in the study of 200 women by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine also reported less pain afterwards.
Breast cancer surgery patients often suffer severe side-effects such as pain, nausea and fatigue during and after their operations. UK experts said more research was needed to prove hypnosis worked.
The side-effects from breast cancer surgery can sometimes mean a longer stay in hospital, extra drugs, or even a return to a hospital ward when patients should be recovering at home.
The Journal of the National Cancer Institute paper is just the latest to conclude hypnosis can help with operations.
Dr. Guy Montgomery, who led the research, recruited 200 women to receive either 15 minutes of hypnosis or just a conversation with a psychologist before their surgery. The women undergoing hypnosis were given suggestions for relaxation and pleasant mental images, and instructions on how to use hypnosis themselves.
Patients who had received hypnosis needed less anesthetic than the others, and reported less pain, nausea, fatigue and emotional distress after the operation.
Money saving
The researchers said this was not just better for the patients, but it added up to cash savings for the hospital, as operations took less time on the hypnotized patients, and less was spent on medication and re-admission of patients.
Dr David Spiegel, from Stanford University School of Medicine, wrote in the journal: “You have to pay attention to pain for it to hurt, and it is entirely possible to substantially alter pain perception during surgical procedures by inducing hypnotic relaxation, transforming perception in parts of the body, or directing attention elsewhere.
“The key concept is that this psychological procedure actually changes pain experience as much as many analgesic medications and far more than placebos.”
Dr. Sarah Cant, from Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: “This is an interesting study and anything that can help reduce the side-effects of breast surgery for breast cancer patients is to be welcomed. However, further, larger studies are needed before we can come to any firm conclusions about the benefits of hypnosis prior to breast surgery.
“Anyone interested in using hypnosis should discuss this with their breast care team first and ensure that they are using an appropriately trained and experienced hypnotherapist.”
