09/07/2022
Hypnosis With Cancer Treatment
Hypnosis can help with cancer treatment in conjunction with medical care in the area of pain management, appetite control, nausea, patient’s outlook, how patient accepts their situation, and with insomnia.
The ground breaking work in this area was done by Dr. O. Carl Simonton and his wife, Stephanie Matthew-Simonton. In their book, Getting Well Again, (Simonton 1978) relaxation, visualization, and imagery were part of their treatment plan. In 1985, Dr. David Spiegel, renowned hypnosis researcher and Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, wrote a paper printed in Ca–A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, on “The Use of Hypnosis in Controlling Cancer Pain.” In this detailed support of using hypnosis, he points out three principles in controlling pain; filtering the hurt out of the pain, not fighting the pain, and the use of self-hypnosis. Dr. Spiegel also did a study of women with breast cancer that was reported in 1989 in Lancet. The results of that study showed patients with cancer contacting hypnotherapists to receive help through imagery.
In 1997, The National Institutes of Health Technology assessment panel, determined that the use of hypnosis, as a part of a comprehensive treatment plan, can be an effective pain relief method. They believed this to be especially important in oncology, because 60% to 80% of patients with advanced cancer have pain. The panel emphasized that the key to use of hypnosis is to introduce it early in the cancer patient’s treatment and to use it along with – not as a substitute for op**te drugs. They found that early use is important because cancer patients often have pain from multiples sources (including treatments), which last for years. The NIH panel also emphasized that hypnosis for pain reduction was cost-effective and often cheaper than other methods. In fact, hypnosis was singled out as an effective, noninvasive, and inexpensive way of helping relieve cancer pain. The study found hypnosis to be more effective than biofeedback, or cognitive behavioral training which strives to change a patient’s negative thought patterns about pain. It is also effective for many cancer patients who fear addiction and won’t take enough medication to relieve their pain.
Since these studies, there have been numerous others conducted, including studies showing the benefit of using imagery, as well. It is well documented now, that using imagery can bolster and boost the immune system, which is a very important help to someone with cancer. The use of Mind/Body techniques like hypnosis and imagery are integrative in approach to go along with traditional medical treatment.
