2006/07 ann ual report - Kids Cancer Care

clinical support
M usic offers children relief from painful
chemotherapy and radiation treatments. And even
when treatment shifts from curative to palliative,
music has its place.
8
to feel good
Above left: Makayla enjoys a song with music therapist
Trina Nestibo.
Above right: Kids like Avianna and their families enjoy
the best hospital care thanks to KCCFA’s Clinical Support
program (photo by Don Molyneaux).
Opposite right: Music brings a smile to Makayla at
the Alberta Children’s Hospital, offering her a reprieve
from rigorous cancer treatments.
Sound health
Hospitals. A place of quiet and rest.
Normally a minstrel wandering
the halls with tambourines and
castanets would attract the
attention of security. But on the
oncology ward at the Alberta
Children’s Hospital music therapist
Trina Nestibo and her cart of
musical instruments are a welcome
part of the healing regime.
Funded through KCCFA’s Clinical
Support program, Trina’s music
sessions are designed to support
healing at all levels—emotional,
physical and spiritual. Research
suggests that music lowers blood
pressure, enhances the body’s own
immune responses and reduces
anxiety among cancer patients.
Some oncologists prescribe it as a
complement to medical treatments.
Music therapy takes different forms:
sometimes a child prefers to listen,
while others sing, compose, play
instruments, or even record CDs.
“These sessions provide an outlet
for self-expression,” says Trina.
“Music helps kids feel better,
so they start to see themselves
differently—not just as cancer
patients.”
Music offers children relief from
painful chemotherapy and radiation
treatments. And even when
treatment shifts from curative to
palliative, music has its place.
Trina recalls 10-year-old Jeffery:
“He loved The Bear Went Over the
Mountain. We sang that song every
week for a year,” each time pausing
just before the bear peered over
the mountain, so Jeff could reveal
what the bear could see. Usually
the bear saw everyday things—a
picnic table, a lake, a blueberry pie.
But one day, Jeff revealed, the bear
saw a tunnel of light. “Only the one
time,” Trina says, “but it showed me
he was at peace with his journey.”
Jeff died shortly after. Trina won’t
forget the music they made
together.