HYPNOTERAPl - Dansk Selskab for Klinisk Hypnose

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who take care of them. Hypnosis is invaluable for symptom control which can greatly
decrease suffering and enhance quality of life and quality time spent with loved ones. It can
also be invaluable for dealing with existential questions which arise with increasing frequency
and urgency in these phase. While these patients are experi-enced in using self-hypnosis,
there are times when they become too ill to do their own work. Family members can often be
instructed in very simple maneuvers for trance induction, deepening, or pacing (such as
shoulder pressure, for example). It is particularly gratifying for the patient and his loved ones
when they are able to help when dispair is at its peak. It is for these patients that I do prepare
tapes which are highly individualized. Telephone trances can be effectively alternated with
home visits.
PHASE IV: CANCER "SURVIVORS"
Such patients often feel vulnerable and anxious partly because they see their doctors, who had
been watching them so closely, less frequently now. Their plans and actions may, for years,
be oversha-dowed by the sense of having a Damocles sword hanging over them.
In several instances a single session has relieved this problem and returned patients to
enjoying their lives normally. One such patients calls me every few years for a brief "peptalk",
and is extremely active and well-adjusted otherwise.
CONCLUSION
In my experiencc, hypnosis can be of significant benefit to cancer patients in any stage of
their disease. However, benefits can be maxi-mized if hypnotic intervention is initiated at the
earliest possible time, i.e., the moment the diagnosis has been made. This can not only avoid
unnecessary suffering for the patient, but it empowers him and makes it much easier for the
physician. It may protect the patient from lea-ving medical treatment, or from seeking
dangerous alternative methods.
Maximum benefit can be achieved by a combination of educational approaches with
continued emotional support including positive sug-gestions - whether used in formal trance
states or informally.
References
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CHEFK DB (l962). Importance of recognizing that surgical patients behave as though
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EGBERT LD, BATTIT GE, WELCH CE, BARTLETT MK (1964). Reduction of
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GENIUS ML (1995). The use of hypnosis in helping cancer patients control anxiety, pain,
and emesis: a review of recent empirical studies. American Journal of Clinical
Hypnosis, 37:316-325
HILGARD JR, LEBARON S. (1982). Relief on anxiety and pain in children and adolescents
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HILGARD ER, HILGARD JR. Hypnosis in the Relief of Pain. Los Altos, CA, William
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KELLERMAN J. ZELTZER L, ELLENSBERGER L, DASR J. (1983). Adolescents with