 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
Cancer and Complementary Therapies
People often speak of feeling that they have lost control of their life when they have cancer. It may be bewildering to spend time in hospitals, which can seem frightening and impersonal, and to meet so many different health professionals, as well as coping with the high-tech machinery and techniques used in cancer treatment. At the same time, it can be difficult to cope with the implications of the illness itself. Complementary therapists usually work with the person as a whole, not just the part of the body with the cancer. This is called a holistic approach and is something good medical practitioners also do. A complementary therapist who listens and cares may help you cope with some of those difficult feelings, which can be an effective way of getting back some control.
Complementary therapies can: help you feel better and
improve your quality of life improve your general
health give you a sense of
control over what is happening to you reduce stress, tension,
sleeplessness, anxiety, depression and make you feel more relaxed help to reduce the
symptoms of cancer, such as pain, feeling sick, breathlessness,
constipation, diarrhoea, tiredness and poor appetite help to reduce some of the side effects of cancer treatment.
There may be complementary therapies that are not suitable if you have a particular type of cancer or during a particular treatment. It is important to tell your hospital specialist if you are having some form of complementary therapy. It is also important to tell your complementary therapist that you have cancer.
Please see www.cancerbackup.org.uk for more information. |
 |
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|