A Medical Student’s View of Our Complementary Therapies

We asked Helena, one of our current medical students on placement, to try our complementary therapies and write about her experiences. We feel it is important for medical students to experience a holistic approach to healthcare and see how services such as ours can complement hospital-led cancer treatments and aid recovery. 

I’m Helena, a third-year medical student at the University of Sheffield. I chose my selected placement to be at Cavendish Cancer Care and over the past 6 weeks, I’ve researched and experienced the different complementary therapies offered to clients. I’ve listed them below, with what they are and my thoughts.

Shiatsu

On my first day, I met with Sarah who introduced me to Shiatsu, a therapy I’d not heard of before. Shiatsu uses the same meridians and pressure points as acupuncture but instead of needles, pressure is applied using the fingers, palms or other body parts. Sometimes, the therapist can use the client’s own body too, such as pushing an arm across their chest to stimulate a point near the shoulder. She taught me a point to stimulate calmness and relaxation which I have been using if I feel stressed. I’m interested in learning more about shiatsu and have produced a research piece on it, as it’s not very well-known and could have the potential to help relieve the side-effects for cancer patients worldwide.

Reiki

Reiki is one of the less-invasive therapies, where the therapist rests their hands on or above the client in different areas. It uses the “Qi” theory to restore energy balance throughout the body. This was used extensively when I visited the wards, as it can be done seated or lying down and without any physical touch. Even those I’ve met who didn’t know about or were sceptical of Qi found it beneficial as it’s a very soothing practice. When Lisa practiced reiki on me, I found it calming and almost fell asleep as it’s usually done with eyes closed and relaxing music.

Massage and aromatherapy

For me, massage was personally my favourite therapy as I often suffer from tight and sore shoulders. I also think it’s a more widely-used practice, and a lot of the clients I spoke to had already had some form of massage in the past. Rather than an intense massage aiming to get rid of any knots, Marla was very gentle and also used elements of reiki to relax the muscles and mind. She also showed me her different essential oils, and clients can opt to have aromatherapy with their message. They can pick an oil depending on their aim, such as for energy or helping sleep.

Acupuncture

I was excited to try acupuncture as lots of patients I’ve met in the past swear by the practice for pain relief and relaxation. I met with an acupuncturist called Kit who explained that the therapy uses points on the body to stimulate the nervous system and can be especially useful for cancer patients in managing hot flushes and pain. She demonstrated on me and surprisingly, the needle did not hurt as I expected it to. However, I took part in the auricular acupuncture group with Charlie and did find the initial session to be slightly painful, but I relaxed as it went on.

Reflexology

Reflexology is based on the principle that the body is mirrored on the feet, and massaging them can help to relieve symptoms elsewhere. Although I didn’t have particular symptoms that I needed help for, I found the foot massage to be very relaxing and felt at ease for the rest of the day. When working with Tina on the Palliative Care Unit, many patients had reflexology as it could be done easily at the bedside, and most reported feeling uplifted and often fell asleep shortly after.

I didn’t have any prior knowledge of body-based therapies as most of my degree is focused on hospital medicine, but now I feel able to signpost and advise patients on integrated care. My time at Cavendish has been extremely rewarding and has opened my eyes to the non-clinical approaches to treatment and support for those affected by cancer.