Gentle therapies such as massage, relaxation, and other "healing" therapies play a major role in palliative care (symptom relief). Some patients find that complementary medicine, also called integrative medicine and/or holistic healing can help alleviate the side effects, pain and anxiety associated with chemotherapy and cancer treatments in general (Hamilton,par.2). Types of complementary medicine are divided into five different cateragories. Sensory, Cognitive, Expressive, Physical and Medical Systems. Sensory complementary medicines include the senses: site, smell, touch, taste and sound. Examples of theses are Aromatherapy, Landscape therapy, Music therapy, Massage, Therapeutic touch, Reiki, Reflexology and Acupuncture. Cognitive complementary medicine incourages mind body healing. Examples of theses are Guided Imagery, Hypnotherapy, Prayer, Meditation, Relaxation and Deep Breathing and Biofeedback. Expressive treatments include anything that lets the patient express themselves in a positive way.Psychotherapy and Counseling, Support groups, Journal writing and Art therapy are examples of theses. Physical complementary medicine is exactly what it sounds like and includes: Physical exersice, Yoga, T"ai Chi and Qi Gong. Medical Systems is an overall term used to describe the types of different, alternative, or non-traditional medicines that may be called upon in addition to western medicine. Some of these include naturopathy, Anthroposophical medicine, Western herbalism, Chinese herbalism, and ayurveda (Hamilton,par.36).
Hamilton, Scott. Chemocare. 2005. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. 15 March 2007.
< http://www.chemocare.com>.
1 comment:
I really like what you're doing with this blog. Your description in the title up there is really good. "Ciphering" is a great word.
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