Aug 18, 2008 6:50 pm US/Eastern
Stress Reduction Helps Breast Cancer Patients
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Many breast cancer patients are turning to stress-reducing techniques called complementary medicine.
AP
Most of us live pretty hectic, stressful lives these days.
While that's probably not so good for any of us, it's especially a problem for breast cancer patients. That's why many turn to stress-reducing techniques called complementary medicine.
"I had a lumpectomy, followed by six-and-a-half weeks of radiation treatment," Dorothy Brown said.
"I did have a mastectomy, so I have a series of different types of chemo," Stephanie Bode said.
For surgeries like those of Brown and Bode, chemotherapy and radiation are pretty typical treatments for breast cancer patients. What's different is what else they're doing.
Part of Brown's routine is an occasional massage at the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge. It's relaxing, of course, and that's the point.
"[There's] a mind-body relationship. If you calm the mind, the body will be calm," Dr. Barrie Cassileth, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering, said. "If you calm the body with, for example, massage therapy, then the mind will relax. It will definitely enhance well-being, relieve pain, relieve stress, and help patients get through a very difficult time."
A very powerful way to tap into the mind-body connection is through meditation and its deeper, more potent cousin hypnosis.
Many women try yoga, which both calms and strengthens.
A more stimulating complementary therapy that many cancer patients overlook is physical therapy. Even just walking can be extremely beneficial.
"The studies showed that there is a survival benefit [to exercise], something like 50 percent better survival in patients," Cassileth said.
"I just feel very free when I'm walking, and just that the load has been lifted off my shoulders," Brown said.
And Bode agrees.
"Taking the stress off, and taking the fear off, and being in harmony has a lot of power with the immune system," she said.
Something that's technically not complementary medicine but is very important is nutrition. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain powerful cancer-fighting chemicals.
Some say there's little proof that complementary medicine actually helps cancer patients, but if it makes you feel good and has virtually no downside, it should be considered.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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