Music To The Ears Of A Cancer Patient

By Author: Dr. Victor Marchione
Total Articles: 90
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Cancer therapy is a gold mine these days of health
breakthroughs (it really is), as we learn more and more
howto challenge the disease and improve quality of life.

A newstudy has unearthed evidence that may be music to the ears
of a cancer patient.

Researchers found that such patients may benefit from
sessions with trained music therapists or from simply
listening to music.

A new review of evidence shows that using the power of song and rhythm could reduce anxiety in cancer patients.

It may also have positive effects on
mood, pain, and quality of life.

These are of critical
importance when someone is spending their energy battling the disease.

Music and music therapy are widely used in clinical
settings.

Treatments range from patients listening to pre-
recorded music, to music therapists engaging patients in
music experiences to improve psychological and physical
well-being.

Music is considered beneficial, particularly for
psychological issues.

In the current study, researchers focused ...
... on trials with
cancer patients of any kind, who were offered music or
music therapy sessions.

They analyzed evidence from about
1,900 patients in 30 studies.

Thirteen of them involved trained music therapists, while in the other 17 trials,
patients listened to pre-recorded music.

How long and how often patients participated in music sessions varied greatly
among trials.

Results show that, compared to standard treatments, music
reduced anxiety considerably.

Some studies had very
significant beneficial effects.

The results also suggest that
music therapy may increase patients' quality of life.

There was some benefit in music for mood and pain, although not
depression.

Smaller beneficial effects were seen for heart
rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure.

What it shows is that music is a very useful complementary
treatment for cancer patients.
Music interventions provided by trained music therapists and listening to pre-recorded
music both showed positive outcomes in this review.

Living with cancer is a tremendous challenge, and it can
exert a huge toll on someone's psyche.

Using music in whatever way works for each patient is a solid step in
improving quality of life and reducing the often-crippling
anxiety that can come with a cancer diagnosis.

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