Holistic Approach for the treatment of Cancer
Holistic care is the approach for the treatment of a cancerous patient where the whole person: its body, mind, and spirit are treated. Treatment through this approach includes both conventional and alterntative methods.
Cancer treatment through medical methods such as radiation therapy is effective for the treatment of cancer but their side effects cannot be avoided. Holistic treatment is preferred to eliminate these side effects.
Medical treatments like chemo and radiation are proven to fight the disease, but their side effects can be hard to live with. Holistic treatment may help to eliminate these problems and improve a patient’s life standard. Although holistic care also has some limitations and it affects you if you quit mainstream medicine for alternative treatments.
Methods Used during this Approach:
The majority of adults use this method outside of medical treatment. Although they are not treating cancers but improve their lives quality.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture is a method where a therapist inserts fine needles in the specific areas of the skin to relives you. It can help to moderate your pain and nausea after your radiation therapy. The therapist believes that through acupuncture energy flow will re-balance in your body.
Mind-body techniques: It is obvious that until you do not have mental relief you cannot stay physically healthy. Different techniques like meditation, hypnosis, and guided imagery. These methods help in relaxing the mind to relieve muscle tension and facilitate inner peace. They are also very helpful to reduce your medication side effects.
Exercise:
The body of a normal person needs daily exercise to make them fit and healthy. When a patient does gentle movement, these movements can help relieve extreme tiredness and stress and enable you to have a fruitful sleep.
There are different forms of doing exercises like simply walking, dancing, yoga, and tai chi. Yoga is just a form of exercise that consists of changing body postures and different breathing techniques for spiritual benefits and to relieve stress and fatigue.
Music Therapy:
Music is an art of exploring humans’ emotional and spiritual issues. Music therapy is designed to help an individual move into consonance and balance. Music therapists are professionals who are educated programs the music for cancer patients’ treatment. This technique helps patients to express their emotions and stay calm.
Aromatherapy
In this therapy, some essential oils are used that are absorbed into the body either through the skin pores during the massage or inhalation through the nose.
The aroma released by the oil then acts on the different parts of the brain especially the hypothalamus and influences different hormones of the body. Therefore an aroma or smell plays a role to change the mood, metabolism and relives the stress.
Massage
A massage is a form of therapy that relies on the body’s nerve endings and pressure points to provide relaxation to the patient’s body. This therapy has been used to treat cancer patients’ stress and anxiety, improve their mood, cause relaxation, and control pain.
Issues with the holistic approach
- Some of the holistic methods are bad for patients; despite the therapist claim it to be effective and beneficial for health.
- Diets that are prescribed to the patient that claim to cure cancer are proved to be expensive, and potentially harmful.
- There are some supplements such as antioxidants that may stop patients’ cancer medical treatment.