Music therapy

Music offers a unique and powerful channel of expression, independent of the use of words. Music therapy has been shown to have many benefits in the cancer care setting, including the reduction of anxiety, pain, and insomnia, and improvement in mood, well-being, and quality of life for both cancer patients and caregivers. A detailed professional evaluation inclusive of a family assessment enables the formulation of a treatment plan that is catered to an individual plan of care. Techniques of music therapy used with this population can be complex. This chapter describes three unique approaches - drumming, music visualisation, and song review and discusses research on music therapy in cancer care. It also considers the assessment of a patient to determine if he/she is coping with the cancer or other progressive disease.