New Music Therapy to Help Young Cancer Patients

Music has been proved to work wonders in case of illness but recent studies discovered that an act of musical creativity the likes of writing lyrics and making musical videos can have a huge positive impact on the young people undergoing a cancer treatment.

The Sad TruthNew Music Therapy to Help Young Cancer Patients

More and more young people are diagnosed with cancer all over the world. All cancer therapies – the stem cell treatment included – are high intensity, extremely invasive therapies coming with associated risks. The psychological trauma the young people suffer during the cancer treatment can be helped by cultivating a positive state of mind and quality social interactions.

The Study

The American Cancer Society Journal published a study which analyzed 113 cancer patients with ages between 11 and 24, treated with stem cells transplants. The patients were randomly divided in a control group who received audiobooks and a Therapeutic Music Video group which participated in a specialized course.

After the course was completed the researchers observed that the coping mechanism of the patients from the Therapeutic Music Videos group was significantly improved and that after 100 days from the date of the course the social interactions in the patients’ families were also better.

These results helped scientists understand which are the factors behind the endurance of young patients suffering from cancer. According to this study, the support of health care providers and peers , a warm and positive family environment but also spiritual beliefs are vital in developing a strong coping mechanism.

Therapeutic Music Video Course

The course encouraged young patients suffering from different types of cancer to identify the things in their life that have the largest impact on their treatment whether these were their family, their healthcare providers or their religious beliefs.

The participants of this group were encouraged to make music videos and present them to their families during a premiere. This helped the people in the patients’ life understand better how they see the future and how they feel about the treatment they are undergoing.

Important Conclusions

The young people benefiting from a strong coping mechanism display an increased resilience which offers them a sense of empowerment and self-awareness associated with confidence in their approach towards dealing with cancer. These types of patients respond better to treatment and express the need to help others.

The logical steps after this study will be to train musical professionals and implement the method on a larger scale. Future studies will observe if the Therapeutic Music Video course will still benefit the cancer patients when introduced in the standard care.