Hypnosis Eases Cancer Survivor Hot Flashes

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[newsmax.com]

 

Hypnosis Eases Cancer Survivor Hot Flashes

 

Hypnosis can help reduce hot flashes among breast cancer survivors, new

research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology shows.

 

The authors of the report note that " hot flashes are a significant

problem for many breast cancer survivors. " The new findings are

particularly important because the current best treatment for hot

flashes, estrogen therapy, is off limits for most women who have had

breast cancer.

Furthermore, many women must take estrogen-blocking drugs like tamoxifen

for years after breast cancer treatment, but " hot flashes can be so

severe that some women make a decision to not continue those

medications, " Dr. Gary Elkins told Reuters Health.

 

Based on some small studies that found

hypnosis benefited women suffering from hot flashes, Elkins of Baylor

University in Waco, Texas, and his team randomly assigned 60 breast

cancer survivors to hypnosis once a week for five weeks or no treatment.

 

The hypnosis sessions, which lasted about 50 minutes, involved helping

the patient to reach a deeply relaxed state, and then offering

suggestions for mental imagery to help her relax and feel cool. This

could mean having a woman imagine herself walking down a cool mountain

path, for example. Women also received instructions on how to practice

hypnosis on their own.

 

Among the 51 women who completed the study, those who had hypnosis

reported a 68% reduction in the severity and frequency of their hot

flashes. This translated to 4.39 fewer hot flashes a day, on average,

for women in the hypnosis group, while there was little change in the

control group.

 

The mechanism behind hot flashes is still poorly understood, Elkins

noted. " We know that they are related to decreases in estrogen, however

that relationship is not direct in the sense that hot flashes lessen

over time even though estrogen levels remain low, " he explained.

 

Hot weather, spicy food and stress can also trigger hot flashes, he

added, so it's possible that women undergoing menopause may have a more

difficult time regulating their body temperature in response to these

triggers. Hypnosis treatment can reduce stress by helping women to

relax, Elkins explained, and may also give them a sense of control that

allows them to keep their body temperature more stable.

 

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, online September 22, 2008.

Copyright Reuters