No matter whether a victim of asbestos exposure has been diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, or other related illnesses such as asbestosis or ovarian cancer, pain is a constant companion. But a study conducted at Taipei Medical University in Taipei, Japan has revealed an effective, inexpensive and easily accessible source of relief: listening to music.
Six Month Experiment Proves Music Relieves Cancer Pain and Fatigue
Pain and fatigue are so much a part of mesothelioma that they are often the first symptoms that lead to a diagnosis. The initial pain comes from the pressure of the disease’s tumors, but as the disease progresses this impact is exacerbated by the effects of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy offered in treatment.
Pain as a symptom and effect are not limited to malignant mesothelioma. They are equally relentless in many types of cancer. In an attempt to find a simple solution for the millions of cancer sufferers around the world, researchers from Taipei Medical University chose to investigate whether music might offer relief.
Study Reveals Positive Impact
The study, which followed a six-month experiment conducted using 60 breast cancer patients, was published in the European Journal of Cancer Care. It reveals that when patients were asked to listen to music in their homes just five times a week for 30 minutes at a time, they began to feel better. The same was not true for the control group, which was asked to listen to ambient music or natural sounds.
Mesothelioma patients who are considering replicating the effect can listen to whatever type of music they prefer, as the group assigned the musical listening was allowed to choose from several types of music. Though pain and fatigue levels improved, as well as symptom severity, the improvements began to fade after about six months. Still, providing six months of clear symptom without the use of drugs is something that should be considered by any mesothelioma patients suffering from pain.
For more information about ways that mesothelioma symptoms and concerns can be addressed, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
