Music Therapy

Just listen to the music...

Listening to music has both a physical and mental impact on your body. This research kind of blew my mind. I mean I knew music always calmed me but I didn’t know there is solid evidence that music can help boost our health, improve cognitive function and performance, reduce stress, and foster creativity. That is so amazing!

Music has always been a huge presence in my life and it has gotten me through so many hard times. Some of you may already know that it has been proven to be extremely therapeutic but I found out a whole lot more...

My first remembrance of music in my life was when I was about 8 years old.

Once a week My Dad would let me look at all of his vinyls. I remember them being HUGE- I guess because I was so young, I thought everything seemed huge to me. I had SO many – I specifically remember a few: Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon

(which I always loved to look at because it had a big triangle on it with a rainbow – I was 8!!), Jimi Hendrix's ‘Electric Ladyland,’ Led Zeppelin's ‘I’, Crosby, Stills & Nash's ‘So Far’ and The Rolling Stones' ‘Volume 2’. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

He showed me how the vinyl player worked a few times – I was so intrigued I mean at the time I had a tape player- Like what is this foreign object?! AND THE VINYL LOOKS LIKE A SAUCER, this has got to be some type of UFO! (I think my brother and I played too much of ‘Area 51’ on PlayStation and watched Men in Black too many times).After listening to the vinyl’s we would sit and watch pre-recorded MTV (back when it was truly a music channel) music videos on VHS (if you are really young you may not know what that is – that sounds weird saying that – am I that old? hahaha).

Anyways, my love for music stems from my childhood. The music was always on in the car if we were going ANYWHERE and since my Father was in a band when he was younger and an avid classic rock lover I started to admire it at a young age. I absolutely loved it. I still listened to artists of the ’90s (my time) like TLC, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, and N’Sync.

I was introduced to Bob Marley in 5th grade by a good friend of mines Father who was my basketball coach and like a second Father to me. The famous “Legend” tape cassette was always on in his car and me and his daughter knew every word.

Fast forward to high school and I became even more enamored with music. As an adult, my love for music was all over the place. My listening was extremely diverse: I still loved (and never lost that love) classic rock and Bob Marley, but I got into more Alternative, Rock, R&B, Reggae, some Rap, and even Jazz. I found my favorite bands: Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Audioslave, 311, Jack Johnson, and others. I realized how much I needed it. I couldn’t study without it. I couldn’t go on the lacrosse field without listening to it before a game. I couldn’t drive without one of my favorite CDs playing.

Whether it was TLC or the Rolling Stones, it always put me in a good mood.

According to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare,

“Music can positively affect neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, that influence mood. Dopamine influences focus, concentration, memory, sleep, mood, and motivation. Likewise, serotonin impacts mood, sleep patterns, anxiety, and pain.”

I know just listening to something a little more upbeat whenever I am feeling down can significantly change my mood. I researched what emotional triggers can cause what type of music I should be listening to and found a strategy called the “Iso-principle” As a helpful tip you may want to try this strategy before or after your cancer treatment.

A study from the National Library of Medicine found that the “Iso-principle is a type of music therapy intervention that suggests that individuals who suffer from emotional disorders benefit from listening to music according to the iso principle. The iso principle comprises listening to music that matches the current mood of patients at first, and then it gradually shifts to music that represents a desired mood. If you want to listen to a song that you pair with anger or sadness, go ahead, but don’t let it repeat too many times. Move on to music of the mood you desire. A music playlist that gradually moves from uncomfortable emotions to comfortable ones can be a healthy coping strategy and facilitate a positive mood change.”

When my Grandmother was sick with Alzheimer’s and in a nursing home, one of the things that would make her light up and smile was music. I remember seeing her so happy and that made me happy.

You see music isn’t just a sound you hear it’s more than that – it’s a special gift given from God. She suffered for years and somedays she was very confused but once you put her “Classic Oldies” CD on it was like all that went away- she would dance around, sing and smile. It was extremely therapeutic for her.

The American Psychological Association (APA) stated that they “found compelling evidence that musical interventions can play a health-care role in settings ranging from operating rooms to family clinics," says Levitin, author of the book "This is Your Brain on Music" (Plume/Penguin, 2007). The analysis also points to just how music influences health. The researchers found that

listening to and playing music increases the body's production of the antibody immunoglobulin A and natural killer cells — the cells that attack invading viruses and boost the immune system's effectiveness. Music also reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol.”

Another article from the same source states that "Active music engagement allowed the patients to reconnect with the healthy parts of themselves, even in the face of a debilitating condition or disease-related suffering," says music therapist Melanie Kwan, co-author of the study and president of the Association for Music Therapy, Singapore. "When their acute pain symptoms were relieved, patients were finally able to rest."

It's astonishing to know that there is hard evidence that MUSIC can help you heal and recover during and after a cancer diagnosis!

According to the American Psychological Association, “There's just something about music — particularly live music — that excites and activates the body," says Loewy, whose work is part of a growing movement of music therapists and psychologists who are investigating the use of music in medicine to help patients dealing with pain, depression and possibly even Alzheimer's disease. "Music very much has a way of enhancing the quality of life and can, in addition, promote recovery."

I always knew music made me happy or in a good mood but later in life when I got sick, I realized it was therapeutic for me as well. Going through cancer treatments music had been such a huge outlet for me. I had a “Cancer CD” that I would bring in with me to my Radiation sessions. The CD included all calming music that I liked (Jack Johnson, Alanis Morrissette, Jewel, and yes Bob Marley!) I know the little kids at CHOP enjoyed it when this man used to come into the Oncology department with his guitar and play/sing for them. It truly helped these kids smile while they were going through something so horrible. I remember coming home after chemotherapy and feeling wiped out and really down. I would reach for my phone, put on my headphones, and play my Pandora playlist.

It always helped me stay calm and it helped with my mental state of mind. It almost was like it took me out of the “hospital world” - if even for 20 minutes. I felt like I was in another world, and I wasn’t sick anymore and I didn’t have to deal with getting stuck for chemo or having to be prepared for an MRI or anticipating the next treatment. All of these thoughts and worries create anxiety. I believe that music is just one of the outlets that can help ease your anxiety during and AFTER cancer treatments.

Lisa Hartling, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta and lead author of the study of music and healing states that “There is growing scientific evidence showing that the brain responds to music in very specific ways." She goes on to say,

"Playing music for kids during painful medical procedures is a simple intervention that can make a big difference."

My anxiety before an MRI, before bloodwork or just going to an event can be overwhelming. When you are a cancer patient the anxiety can get significantly worse, and time goes on. Why? Because we most likely have post-cancer residual problems, the fear of reoccurrence, nervousness of what we say to others about it, etc.

Researchers at Stanford University claimed that “music seems to be able to affect brain function to the same extent as medication in many circumstances.”

I loved reading that music is medicine because I know that it was definitely a critical support for me and continues to be. To this day music is just one of my outlets post-brain and spinal cancer. I literally go to it for every emotion I am feeling, whether sad, happy, anxious, or annoyed it somehow gives me that “everything is going to be ok” effect.

According to cancer.net “There is growing evidence on the impact of musical interventions in addressing stress, improving memory, enhancing communication and self-expression, and promoting physical rehabilitation for people with cancer. For example, a 2015 study among women undergoing breast surgery for cancer diagnosis and treatment found that music had been a safe and effective intervention that could help manage anxiety before the operation. Meanwhile, for people with cancer undergoing a type of stem cell/bone marrow transplant called an autologous transplant, a 2017 study found that music therapy may help them manage pain, and a 2003 study found that it may also help improve their mood. In another 2017 study,

music therapy significantly lowered anxiety and distress in people with cancer during a simulation of radiation therapy.

Finally, research suggests that musical interventions may be an option for relieving cancer-related fatigue in people with cancer who are undergoing or have already completed treatment. In addition, our understanding of music's impact on our bodies and minds is ever-expanding. Researchers report that music helps modulate our heart rate, pulse, and blood pressure. Soothing music may also lower our levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to 2018 research.”

Music helps and music heals! If you are going through cancer treatment, even if you don’t particularly like music, I truly think something so simple as listening to music could really help you. I know it seems like a pretty mundane strategy while you’re going through a life-changing, difficult journey but I hope you will at least try. No, I’m not saying this is the cure-all to problems and anxiety but I am saying it helps. I can’t sit here and say it WILL help you- but why not just try? Who knows maybe it will change the way you deal with traumatic situations and it may just be the outlet that you need right now!

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