The world of arts and painting is coming to the comfort of cancer patients! If the cancer patients would paint pictures in watercolor, or sketch with charcoal, do engage in fashioning of a craft under the gentle guidance of an therapist, this can lead to significant reduction in anxiety and fatigue in cancer patients as per a new findings from a new study.
This study from scientists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago showed that art therapy helped alleviate eight of nine symptoms in patients being treated for cancer, including pain, depression, poor appetite and fatigue.
Fifty patients with conditions that ranged from breast and colorectal cancer to leukemia and lymphoma took part in this study, which involved a one-hour art therapy session in the hospital. Most patients' cancers were incurable.
"It's not simply making art, it's not simply gluing some sequins on a piece of paper," Judith Paice, director of the hospital's cancer pain program and a study co-author, said from Chicago.
"There is really an expression that goes on and an interpretation and discussion of that expression that allows people to reframe what's happening to them, to reframe that they're in the hospital and maybe experiencing symptoms and maybe scared about their diagnosis or the future.
"The adult patients are able to express their fears, their emotions, their concerns, their wishes and their dreams in another manner," said Paice, noting that many patients find receiving counseling through art far less intimidating and stigmatizing than standard psychotherapy.
The art therapy has to be conducted by a specialist trained in both art and psychological counseling. They use the creative process to induce relaxation and give expression to a person's deepest emotions. |
