Reiki for cancer – CAM therapy

Cancer treatments, while life saving for many people, often cause painful and debilitating side effects to a person’s whole body system. Treatments like radiation, chemotherapy and surgery can often effectively put cancer into remission for the patient. However, such treatments also cause severe mental and physical side effects such as nausea, vomiting, anxiety and depression.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies such as massage and Reiki for cancer are gaining popularity among cancer patients. People generally use these methods in addition the traditional medical treatments they receive. Complementary and alternative therapies frequently decrease feelings of stress, anxiety or depression in the patient.

Reiki is not considered to be a cancer treatment in and of itself but is used and viewed by most as a complementary therapy designed to work in conjunction with an existing ongoing medical treatment. Some patients undergoing cancer treatment feel that Reiki has helped them manage pain. Others feel that Reiki helps them be more relaxed, or they have experienced a lessening of the physical side effects of treatments like radiation and chemotherapy through the complementary use of Reiki.

The Science of Reiki for cancer

Unfortunately not a lot of scientific data exists yet that measurably details the effectiveness of Reiki for cancer including serious cancers like a mesothelioma diagnosis, lymphoma or melanoma. Still, a lot of anecdotal evidence exists that dictates how individuals have experienced the benefits of Reiki during their cancer treatments. Also, more scientific studies are being performed regularly, and proponents of Reiki remain optimistic that further evidence to support the use of Reiki during cancer treatment will emerge.

In an April 2011 article in The Annals of Surgical Oncology, Dr. Sheldon Marc Feldman, Columbia University Medical Center’s Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology  “incorporates the role of Reiki practitioners”  to reduce the stressful impact of traditional cancer treatments on the body. Dr. Feldman recommends Reiki to patients as a way to ready themselves before treatment. He also recommends it as a treatment to use concurrently during chemotherapy, radiation or surgery as well as after those procedures.

Reported Outcomes of Reiki for cancer

During several documented cases, patients felt that with the assistance of Reiki performed by a certified Reiki practitioner much of the other medical procedures and treatments seemed easier to bear mentally. The Reiki for cancer treatments aided the patients in feeling greater tranquility and peace of mind.

People also have reported that they feel more empowered with the use of Reiki during medical procedures. There is additional anecdotal evidence from patients who state that their use of Reiki for cancer has helped them alleviate pain as effectively as or more effectively than pharmaceutical treatments. Some people have reported as well that by using Reiki during radiation treatments they felt that their bodies held up better under the treatment and did not experience much tissue destruction.

Proponents of Reiki for cancer therapy believe that the benefits cancer patients receive are because Reiki energy itself is the energy of the life force, which aids the body in renewing and regenerating itself during times of trauma. While evidence of this cannot be proven, evidence does exist that shows that any calming therapies including Reiki, massage and meditation provide benefits to the patient.

Reiki for cancer – Areas we serve

Family and Environmental Medicine help patients with cancer who implement natural, complementary and alternative medicine therapies.  The information contained in this article is not intended as the sole natural medicine for cancer treatment but should be considered as part of a holistic program of healing. Dr Gary S. Gruber provides private appointments for patients from around the country. The majority of patients are from the local area including Greenwich CT, Stamford CT, Darien CT, Norwalk CT, New Canaan CT, Wilton CT, Westchester County, NY, NYC, and Northern NJ. For other natural solutions to cancer please contact us at (203) 966-6360.