The Benefits Of Hypnotherapy In Cancer Care

Bennett Mathers July 18, 2011

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Being diagnosed with cancer can be frightening and confusing. In the past, the cancer patient typically felt little control over some of things that were happening within their own bodies and during the course of their medical treatment. People who suffered the physical side effects of chemotherapy or radiation resigned themselves to misery throughout the process. Today, the cancer patient has been given a new coping tool hypnotherapy. Using the powers of the human mind, visualization, relaxation and hypnosis have been shown to provide cancer patients with an effective coping tool for their health challenges.

Hypnosis Can Help Ease Anxiety And Fear

When it comes to a prognosis of cancer, people can begin to feel panic, anxiety and fear. Especially those who have been diagnosed with cancer types that have a high mortality rate, like mesothelioma or pancreatic cancer. A mesothelioma prognosis can be handled with less anxiety by the use of hypnotherapy techniques.

Using the skills of a trained hypnotherapist, a cancer patient can be taught the techniques of guided imagery, autosuggestion, breathing, relaxation and how to cope with upset emotions.

Hypnotherapy Works To Ease Physical Discomfort

Self-hypnosis has been shown to help alleviate pain in cancer patients. The medical profession also refers to hypnotherapy as helping to control panic and sensations of anticipated pain. In the same way a small child can begin to cry before the doctor has even given them an injection, a cancer patient can begin to feel pain because they anticipate it coming. Pain management is one of the many benefits of hypnotherapy.

Hypnotherapy For Cancer Patients Uses The Power Of The Mind-Body Connection

When it comes to the mind-body connection, there are certainly opposing opinions. In the case of hypnotherapy, cancer patients themselves have gone into remission through a combination of drug treatments, guided imagery and creative visualization. Although hypnotherapy is not a cure for cancer, it can be a powerful coping tool for those who are dealing with the disease. Just as thoughts can produce nausea with anticipation of chemo, the same thoughts can be turned around to ease the symptoms of nausea.

During sessions of hypnotherapy, the cancer patient is taught about the mind-body connection by using relaxation and imagery to reduce their pain, anxiety, fatigue and nausea. Cancer patients using hypnotherapy treatments also fared better after surgery, needed less anesthesia and generally had a more positive psychological outcome from their surgical procedure.

The Greatest Benefit Of Hypnotherapy In Cancer Care

What is the greatest benefit that hypnotherapy can offer someone who is dealing with cancer? It offers them a way to get some control back into their lives. Having cancer can feel like spinning out of control. Self-hypnosis techniques empower the patient and teach them how to find strength from within themselves to cope with the challenges of a cancer diagnosis.