Chemotherapy is a common treatment to destroy or inhibit the growth of cancerous cells. It targets fast-growing cells, which include cancer cells - but also may include healthy cells, such as those of the skin, hair, intestines and bone marrow.
It's effective, but it can have unpleasant side-effects, such as nausea, hair loss, fatigue and 'chemo brain' - that is, thinking and memory problems.
So what does Hypnotherapy have to do with all this?
As with just about anything, how you think about something can affect how you experience it. If you are told that you're likely to feel sick, and after the first appointment that's what you do experience, then it may be that your body expects to feel sick, and you start feeling nauseous even before your second appointment. Hypnotherapy can help with that (as it can with travel sickness and travel phobia, too).
And the image you have in your mind for the whole chemotherapy treatment matters, too. Which of these two ways of thinking is likely to give you a better experience, do you think? 'I'm being poisoned and it's killing all new cell growth. This is taking forever and it's awful.' Or alternatively, 'This is really working! I can see the cancerous cells being destroyed, one by one until there are none left.'
The trouble is, without someone to help, we're left to our own thoughts, that inner voice that isn't always as helpful as it thinks it is, and the no doubt well-intentioned but not always constructive ideas that our friends, colleagues and even doctors may choose to share with us.
A pleasant, soothing recording of a reassuring voice implanting powerful positive suggestions deep into your subconscious is an excellent way to prepare for your next chemotherapy treatment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing or about to experience chemotherapy, I'd welcome a call to discuss whether Hypnotherapy may be helpful. Call me on 0423 793887.