Complement your cancer treatment

Nurture your mind, body, and spirit

Why go Beyond
Traditional Standard of Care?

There is a connection between health and spirituality. In fact, our mind, body, and spirit all work together in divine synergy. Recognizing this connection is of utmost importance when journeying through a health challenge such as cancer. Complementary therapies focus on healing the body as a whole and can be a tremendous ally when undergoing traditional treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.

Here, we will introduce you to therapies that focus on strengthening the mind, body, and spirit, including meditation, EFT Tapping, vision boards, journaling, reiki, essential oils, and yoga. We will also explore treatments that support your biological or cellular health such as massage, acupuncture, reflexology, ozone therapy, PEMF therapy, and infrared sauna.

Many of these therapies can be self-taught and practiced in your home. Several therapies will need to be provided by integrative oncology practitioners, wellness centers, and licensed therapists. Take the time to see what is available in your local community and make sure you choose a licensed practitioner with extensive training.

Use this list as your starting point – there are many more complementary therapies to consider as you journey to better health. All will provide benefits to your mind, body, and spirit.

Prayer and Meditation

Prayer and Meditation

Meditation, or “the art of stillness”, is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way we train the body while exercising. It’s been said that in many ways meditation and prayer are twins, but they are not identical twins. Prayer is a type of spiritual communication from a believer to their “Greater Being” and has been steeped in tradition across various world religions. Prayer is deliberate and can include meditating. Meditation helps to still the soul. It focuses on opening your heart, expanding your awareness, and calming your mind.

Guided meditation for healing is a great way to release the stress that accumulates in the mind and the tensions that build up in the body. One of the reasons that guided meditation is particularly effective is that you can just relax and enjoy it.

When you are going through a physical health condition, you can use a meditation practice daily to give yourself the gift of stillness that can assist your body to heal.

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EFT Tapping

EFT Tapping

EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique, also known as Meridian Tapping or Tapping) is the emotional version of Chinese acupuncture, minus the needles. It stimulates our energy meridians – the same energy meridian system that traditional Chinese acupuncture uses. It’s a fast, easy, and effective way to reduce anxiety, clear emotional blocks, and become more peaceful and focused in all areas of your life. EFT comes from energy medicine and energy psychology, which is based on the foundational belief that good health relies on proper energy flow throughout the body. Any major stressor can interrupt this flow creating an energy “block” that can lead to disease.

Anyone who wishes to restore the free flow of energy and re-balance their system should use Tapping. Tapping changes belief patterns and reduces stress and can be a strong ally on your road to recovery.

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Vision Boards

Vision Boards

Vision boards are like bulletin boards – a collage of pictures and words that, all together, mean something quite meaningful and inspirational to the ‘artist’ or individual. Hopes, aspirations, and dreams are represented on a single board that serves as a positive reminder of what you want to achieve or how you want to feel. It might allude to exceptional health, inner peace, or all the things that you want your life to encompass.

A vision board can help clear your focus and ensure your goals are always in view.  When someone is going through a health crisis, a vision board can be an impactful visualization tool, ideal for achieving a positive mindset that promotes healing.

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Journaling

Journaling

Simply put, journaling is getting your thoughts down on paper. It can be a way to clear your mind and document a journey – a journey of any type. Early research into the benefits of expressive writing for people with cancer found that women with breast cancer who wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings reported the fewest symptoms and had the fewest unscheduled visits to their doctors. A more recent study showed similar benefits in reducing symptoms and improving physical function for people with kidney cancer who did expressive writing exercises.

Another study published in 2008 showed that even one 20-minute writing session may be enough to immediately change the way people with cancer think and feel about their disease!

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Reiki

Reiki

Reiki (pronounced Ray-key) is a Japanese name consisting of two words Rei and Ki, meaning spiritually guided life energy (commonly known as universal life source). Reiki is a form of spiritual healing using “universal life energy” channeled through the practitioner to the recipient. Reiki is great for people in need of harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit. It can be used during a health crisis, an emotionally stressful event, or a spiritual strain. You should use Reiki as a way to move old energy out of the body and replace that old energy with new energy. What is energy? Energy is emotions, pain, laughter, stress, etc. You may not know it, but you are an energetic being, and you exchange energy everyday in everything you do. Sometimes that energy builds up and gets trapped leaving us feeling heavy, stuck, stressed, overwhelmed, or in pain. That is where Reiki comes in.

Find a local Reiki practitioner in your area, and schedule a session. Several appointments may be needed to reset and harmonize your body so it is in the best possible place for healing.

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Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a practice aiming to join the mind, body, and spirit through a combination of breath control, relaxation, simple meditation, and various postures. As you go through treatment, there will be times when you feel the need for more energy and deeper relaxation. Yoga can help. You can find a local yoga studio to take a class, or you can do it in the convenience of your home: find a wonderful YouTube video and just start. You may find this practice to be quite calming. The intent of yoga is to promote overall health and well-being.

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Essential Oils

Essential Oils

Essential oils are formed inside aromatic plants and have been used for thousands of years for healing and medicinal purposes. Dating back to ancient times, these oils have been integrated into Greek, Roman, and Chinese medicine because of their tremendous health properties.

They are extracted from seeds and plants through modern distillation or cold pressing methods and conveniently packaged in small dropper-sized bottles. Essential oils can be used topically, aromatically, and a few are even used internally. The amazing thing is how quickly they can travel through the body. Whether they’re applied to the skin or inhaled, the body metabolizes essential oils just like other nutrients, in just a few minutes’ time.

Essential oils are for anyone interested in boosting their immune system, resolving a health issue, preventing disease, or wanting to maintain optimal health.

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Therapies provided by licensed practitioners.

Again, take the time to see what is available in your local community and be sure to choose a licensed practitioner with comprehensive training and extensive experience working with cancer patients.

Massage

Massage

Massage therapy is the treatment of stroking, kneading, or pressing on the soft tissue of the body. It has been used for centuries and provides both physical and mental relaxation. Massage can help patients recover from rigorous cancer treatments by releasing relaxation endorphins. Circulation and movement of lymph through massage is also known to be helpful. Additional benefits while undergoing cancer treatments may include pain, nausea, and anxiety relief.

Caution
Light massage can be safely given to patients in all stages of cancer, although tumor treatment sites should not be massaged to avoid any discomfort or pressure on the affected area and underlying organs. If massage is being considered to relieve symptoms of lymphedema, you must ensure the therapist has been properly trained in lymphatic drainage massage. It is imperative to speak with your physician prior to scheduling any type of massage while in treatment.
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Acupuncture / Acupressure

Acupuncture / Acupressure

Acupuncture and its sister companion, acupressure, promote natural healing and improve functioning by stimulating the body’s energy. This traditional Chinese medicine has been around for thousands of years and is based on the belief that health requires a balance of yin and yang in the body. If an imbalance occurs, the normal flow of energy (qi) is disrupted and disease may occur.

Acupuncture utilizes hair-thin needles to stimulate pressure points in the body, while acupressure is accomplished by using firm pressure to massage these points.

Both variations are used to treat a variety of symptoms and conditions associated with cancer and the side effects of cancer treatments such as fatigue, nausea, pain, depression, and anxiety. They have been used to improve sleep and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, as well as overall immune function.

Caution
It is important to discuss this therapy with your oncologist. A lowered white blood cell count may reduce your ability to fight infections and therefore acupressure may be more appropriate than acupuncture due to the use of needles. Likewise, a lowered platelet count may contribute to bruising or difficulty in stopping bleeding, and in this case your doctor may want you to postpone this therapy all together.
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Reflexology

Reflexology

Reflexology is an ancient form of “pressure massage” and is considered both a science and a holistic therapy. It is based on the belief that there are points on the hands, feet, and ears that are connected to every part of the body, including the spinal cord, organs, glands, and brain. In a process similar to acupressure, compression is used against these points to target specific “energy zones.” Reflexology can support relaxation and comfort during cancer treatment and offers an alternative to traditional massage.

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Ozone Therapy

Ozone Therapy

Ozone therapy is a form of integrative medicine that aims to increase the amount of oxygen in the body through the introduction of ozone (O3) in body cells. It provides numerous health benefits for cancer patients including detoxification, relaxation, minimizing treatment side effects, enhancing the immune system, and enhancing the body’s natural antioxidant system. There are various methods for administering ozone therapy including IV therapy, saline injection, body saunas and application through oils.

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Therapies Utilizing Devices

The two following therapies are ones where actual devices are utilized. These devices can be purchased for in-home use. They are not inexpensive, but an option that may be considered. You can also find an integrative oncology practitioner or a wellness center in your local community that offer these.

Infrared Sauna

Infrared Sauna

An infrared sauna uses light to create heat. It is sometimes called a far-infrared sauna—”far” describes where the infrared waves fall on the light spectrum. Unlike traditional saunas, infrared saunas use lower heat levels yet penetrate deeper into the skin. The healing benefits include the removal of toxins, increased oxygenation, enhanced immune system, and pain relief. Infrared saunas provide a form of whole-body hyperthermia that boosts health in many ways. Research studies have shown the effectiveness of heat therapy not just for treating cancer pain, but for shrinking tumors as well.

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PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequencies) Therapy

PEMF (Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequencies) Therapy

PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic fields) is the delivery of low frequency pulsed waveforms to the body. This allows our 70 trillion cells in the human body to be refreshed and rise to optimal cellular communication in all the systems of the body. This therapy is used for many types of healing and was established in Europe approximately 30 years ago. Since then, the European Medical Community has conducted thousands of scientific clinical studies regarding the positive benefits of PEMF.

The primary feature of this treatment method is the resonance effect of pulsating electromagnetic fields in the body. Vibrations are transmitted as purposeful information to energy-deprived, weak, and unhealthy cells whose function has been disturbed. Healthy cells = healthy body! There are no side effects. The patient only experiences the gentle force of nature, namely the magnetic field of the earth, simulated in the therapy device.

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The Power to Shape Your Healing Journey is Yours,

And Yours Alone

By incorporating a few of these complementary therapies into your daily routine you will truly nurture
your mind, body, and spirit.

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