Mindfulness is the practice of focusing one’s attention on the present. Like other integrative therapies and practices, it has been proven to help people through difficult circumstances, reduce stress and pain, and improve focus. This makes it an especially powerful complementary therapy for cancer patients. Here are some ways you can practice mindfulness, wherever you … Read more
Pain, anxiety, fear: these are a few common feelings that may become particularly heightened after a cancer diagnosis and during treatment. But a traveling mobile art cart, sponsored by the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, now offers Dana-Farber patients the ability to reduce pain or stress through expressive arts such as coloring, weaving, … Read more
By Rebecca Berman During my ongoing treatment for metastatic endometrial carcinoma, I tried many different mindful activities, such as yoga and other integrative therapies, but I came to a point where I felt that I needed to up my game. In the past, creative writing had helped me express and better process emotions, so I … Read more
When cancer patients face stress, fatigue, or nausea, they may turn to integrative therapies such as reflexology to help ease symptoms. Although each patient responds individually, reflexology can support relaxation and comfort during cancer treatment and offers an alternative to traditional massage. What is Reflexology? Reflexology uses pressure and touch on the feet, hands, and … Read more
Exercise and other integrative therapies, including yoga, can ease the symptoms of breast cancer and its treatment, help patients feel better during treatment, and can be scaled to fit each patient’s unique needs and abilities. For patients who might experience lymphedema following surgery or radiation, yoga can help restore range of motion in the arms … Read more
Whether it’s creating a work of art, taking time to meditate, or chronicling their experience through a blog, cancer patients find many creative ways to cope with their diagnosis and treatment. In many cases, music can also help patients express their physical and emotional challenges, and a new mobile recording studio at Dana-Farber is bringing … Read more
While the medical treatments for cancer can help fight off deadly disease, these life-saving therapies can also cause physical and emotional side effects. For some patients, the use of integrative therapies can help ease or eliminate treatment-related symptoms. In this Cancer Conversations podcast episode – the first of the series – David Rosenthal, MD, former … Read more
“Fun” is not a term largely associated with trips to Dana-Farber, but that’s exactly how Yvette Colon describes the Expressive Art Therapy Program at the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies. “Being sick, I forget what it is like to have fun because it’s easy to only think about cancer and treatment,” says Colon, … Read more
There are many ways to define mindfulness. In a recent talk given at Dana-Farber, ABC news correspondent Dan Harris said mindfulness is the “ability to know what’s happening in your head right now without getting carried away by it.” Patricia Arcari, PhD, RN, of Dana-Farber’s Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, describes it as paying attention … Read more
Zeynep Aytekin, a 47-year-old management consultant, has always wanted to participate in a drum and rhythm class. Now, as a breast cancer patient at Dana-Farber, she has the opportunity to let loose her inner percussionist. After some encouragement from a friend, whom she met at the Gentle Hatha Yoga, Aytekin joined the drum circle group … Read more
Mindfulness meditation is a simple, effective technique for relieving stress and focusing on the present, whether you’re a current cancer patient, a longtime survivor, or even “a fidgety news man.” This was the message delivered by Dan Harris, correspondent and co-anchor for ABC’s “Nightline” and “Good Morning America Weekend,” during the keynote speech at the … Read more
Any cancer diagnosis and treatment can take a physical and emotional toll on patient. For many lung cancer patients, post-operative pain and muscle tension, as well as breathing and sleeping issues, are common side effects. To help ease some of these symptoms, patients can seek out integrative therapies, which can be used in conjunction with standard … Read more
As a girl, Paula Kaufman loved playing with the buttons that her grandmother, a seamstress, had in abundance. Later, while in treatment for stage III colorectal cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Kaufman – then a mother of three in her late 30s – gained strength from a jar of buttons her grandmother bequeathed to her. … Read more
Cancer therapy can take a toll on one’s body and mind. Thankfully, there are a variety of integrative therapies that, together with traditional medicine, can help patients feel better during treatment. Through the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies, Dana-Farber offers therapies such as acupuncture, massage, meditation, yoga, and creative arts and music therapy, … Read more
Whether it’s yoga, meditation, massage, or nutrition counseling, integrative therapies can offer a wide range of benefits for patients.
“The whole concept of integrative therapies is about improving the overall quality of life for cancer patients,” says David Rosenthal, MD, medical director of Dana-Farber’s Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies. “Integrative and complementary therapies are helpful in all stages of diagnosis, from pre-cancer to survivorship.”
By Robert Foley
Increasing evidence through research at Dana-Farber and elsewhere supports the use of acupuncture as a remedy for some of the symptoms breast cancer patients experience. This integrative therapy can be used in conjunction with radiation and chemotherapy.
One of the oldest healing practices in the world, acupuncture is beginning to have a role in alleviating pain and discomfort associated with cancer and its treatments. Acupuncturists use fine needles to penetrate the skin and stimulate — manually or electrically — specific points on the body. Stimulation at these points, according to traditional Chinese medicine, … Read more