Childhood Cancer
Complementary treatments
In recent years, increasing research has been done on mind–body medicine and its effect on coping with the side effects of illness. Complementary (also called adjunctive) therapies are those that can be expected to add something beneficial to the treatment. For example, visualization and music therapy are widely used to help children and teens prepare for or cope with medical procedures. Other helpful complementary therapies are acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, relaxation, massage, mindfulness meditation, prayer, and Reiki.
Christine was terrified of needles, and it was a nightmare every time we went in to get her port accessed or blood drawn. We went to a psychologist who specialized in methods to cope with pain. She taught my daughter visualization. They made an audiotape of an underwater snorkeling trip. It included watching all of the colorful fish and feeling the soothing warm water. She would listen to it in the clinic, or visualize the trip without the tape. It really helped her develop a technique to cope with accessing the port.
Table of Contents
All Guides- Introduction
- 1. Diagnosis
- 2. Bone Sarcomas
- 3. Liver Cancers
- 4. Neuroblastoma
- 5. Retinoblastoma
- 6. Soft Tissue Sarcomas
- 7. Kidney Tumors
- 8. Telling Your Child and Others
- 9. Choosing a Treatment
- 10. Coping with Procedures
- 11. Forming a Partnership with the Medical Team
- 12. Hospitalization
- 13. Venous Catheters
- 14. Surgery
- 15. Chemotherapy
- 16. Common Side Effects of Treatment
- 17. Radiation Therapy
- 18. Stem Cell Transplantation
- 19. Siblings
- 20. Family and Friends
- 21. Communication and Behavior
- 22. School
- 23. Sources of Support
- 24. Nutrition
- 25. Medical and Financial Record-keeping
- 26. End of Treatment and Beyond
- 27. Recurrence
- 28. Death and Bereavement
- Appendix A. Blood Tests and What They Mean
- Appendix B. Resource Organizations
- Appendix C. Books, Websites, and Support Groups