Land so-called integrated therapies can be of great help to women being treated against a breast cancer: from making treatments more bearable, thus promoting therapeutic adherence, to promoting a healthy lifestyle capable of reducing risk of recurrence cancer or theoccurrence of second tumours. It’s all about techniques relaxation, yoga, specific personalized fitness and nutrition programs which have positive effects on the patient’s quality of life, an increasingly central aspect and one of the strategic objectives of the National Oncology Plan 2023-2027. Yet, in our country, only one out of two patients resort to integrated therapies, as underlined by Ropi, the Italian Oncological Patient Network, in the document “Integrated therapies and breast cancer”.
What are integrated therapies?
With integrated therapies we mean the combination of standard medical care with complementary, safe and effective treatments, «during and beyond cancer treatment to manage symptoms, prevent toxicities e improve the quality of life» as the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) guidelines) and of American Society of Medical Oncology Ascodrafted to clarify the levels of evidence and strength of recommendations for people diagnosed with breast cancer.
From music therapy to Yoga, the beneficial effects also on those with cancer
Music therapy, meditation and yoga are suggested for the reduction of anxiety and stress. Meditation, relaxation, yoga, massage and music therapy for depression hey mood disorders. Meditation and yoga to improve the quality of life. Acupressure and acupuncture to reduce the nausea and the chemotherapy-induced vomiting. Furthermore, the Sio/Asco guidelines for pain management, updated last September, they recommend acupuncture, acupressure, massage, and hypnosis depending on the type of pain.
Integrated therapies and cancer: an approach that is still not widespread
The Ropi’s studio, conducted on 200 patients with advanced early and advanced breast cancer, shows that only 46% of women with breast cancer have used one or more integrated therapies and, of these, 96% believe they have benefited from it. 74% had access to it outside the national health system and used it to better manage side effects, both physical and psychological, of therapies and of the disease.
Among the most commonly used integrated therapies, lo yoga, tai chi, qui gong, mindfullness. Acupuncture, shiatsu, reflexology, but also art therapy and music therapy. Integrated oncological therapies continue to be little known and difficult to access: among those who have not resorted to them, 50% have not heard of them, 30% have no desire or time, and 15% because they have no possibility of access it in the area where he lives.
Acupuncture for anxiety and pain
Meanwhile, the evidence continues to pile up, the latest being a study on Cancer concerning theacupuncture for anxiety and pain. With an increasing number of randomized clinical trials, an attempt is made to arrive at scientific evidence capable of indicating which interventions are safe and effective and which, on the other hand, are useless or even harmful. The recommendation is always to avoid that, experiencing a situation of great difficulty, one ends up considering practices without evidence as a valid option.
The Umberto Veronesi Foundation
There Umberto Veronesi Foundation was born in 2003 on the initiative of Umberto Veronesi and many other internationally renowned scientists and intellectuals, including 11 Nobel Prize winners, with the aim of promoting scientific research of excellence and prevention, health education and science dissemination projects. The Foundation’s activities renew every day the vision of its founder Umberto Veronesi, a doctor who has dedicated his life to developing innovative scientific knowledge to put it at the service of the well-being of his patients. The foundation:
- supports the scientific research through the delivery of research grants for doctors and researchers and finances projects very high profile that can develop new knowledge and new treatments for oncological diseases
- accomplish prevention campaigns and education that promote the adoption of healthy and mindful lifestylesin synergy with schools and with public and private realities in the world of research, information and publishing
- organize international conferences that tell the future of science and the role it can play in promoting peace and the well-being of peoples.
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