Therapeutic Healing

Yesterday I was FINALLY beginning to feel a little better, so I went into work for a few hours. It was really nice to get out of the apartment and believe it or not, be in a work environment. I enjoyed thinking about something else rather than just being sick. It is funny how a distraction can be a beautiful thing.

Also, yesterday I tired something new: therapeutic healing. After talking to my doctor he recommeded I try therapeutic healing as a way to cope with stress. Over the past few chemo treatments I have been having a hard time slowing down and keeping my stress level to a mininum. So I had never heard of therapeutic healing before, but I thought I would give it a try, and I'm really glad I did.

When I first met with Tom Luke he had me fill out some paperwork to gauge my levels of stress, pain, mental comfort, physical comfort, and fatigue. He asked me how my treatments were going and how I was dealing with the whole experience. It felt good to tell a stranger about my journey so far, all of the ups and downs I have already experienced along the way. Sometimes a person you don't know can provide just the comfort you're looking for. After that we soaked my feet and put my hands and feet into warming gloves. I was surprised at how comforting it felt to have my hands and feet in a warm and small environment.

Tom then put on a CD that played a form of guided visual imagery therapy. The CD consisted of a woman talking to me about finding a comfortable place and acknolwedging all the different parts of my body. She walked me through the imagery of my secured location, and helped me take big and powerful breaths. So each breath I took was pushing out all the negative thoughts or feelings I had within my mind and body. The woman had a very soothing voice and I enjoyed the moments of relaxation. However, I must admit during the process I had to really work on keeping my mind focused. It was hard not to wander off mentally and think about what I wanted to have for dinner or how I'm going to write tonight's story!!

But my favorite part was when I was listening to the woman on the CD, Tom gave me a face, arms, and legs massage. This was my first professional massage and it was GREAT! Over the last few weeks I have built up so much tension and stress in my face and arms that it felt wonderful to have it all pushed out of my body. Chemo and Cancer has made my muscles so physically weak that it felt nice to have them massaged.

However, something I didn't think would have as big of an impact as it did, was the power of SMELL. Tom used such wonderful smelling oils and lotions for the massage. I was so surprised at how the smell of the lotions really made me feel better. I guess I never took the time to realize how smell could have such a powerful impact on your physical and mental health. I think I might need to light some more candles!! Cancer has made me more aware of some of the smallest things in life.

When the CD was over I must say I felt so much more refreshed. Even with all the powerful chemo drugs following through me veins, I felt healthier and ready to face the day's challenges. So overall I'm really glad I tired out therapeutic healing and I would recommend it to any other cancer patient out there.
Danielle