Our intern Aurélie talks about her own personal cancer experience and how complementary therapies helped her through it.
I am typing these words from Macmillan’s offices in London. My name is Aurélie. This week I am doing an internship in Macmillan’s editorial department, but just a few days ago, I was in hospital for my quarterly surveillance tests and check-ups. I am in remission – 15 months after I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. When an editor asked me whether I could write a piece for the online community blog, I accepted without hesitation. On being asked which topic I would like to cover, one sprung immediately to my mind – complementary therapies.
Macmillan has a booklet and an audiobook about complementary therapies, which you can order for free.
Complementary therapies are usually used alongside conventional treatments. They aren’t used to cure cancer. Instead, they are used to boost physical or emotional health. They may also be used to help relieve cancer symptoms or side effects of treatments. Therapies can be used during and after your treatment, and can be a good way of helping you cope with some of the stresses caused by cancer and cancer treatments.
There is a wide variety of complementary therapies. Many are relaxing, and having an enjoyable experience may lift your spirits when you aren’t feeling your best. Some complementary therapies can also help to relieve specific symptoms or side effects caused by cancer or its treatments.
Complementary therapies include:
I feel particularly strongly about these therapies because I feel they enabled me to fight against cancer. Like most patients, at first, I felt utterly powerless in the face of cancer. There was nothing I could do against it, nothing I could attempt to make it go away. I had to trust my medical team, undergo the treatment and deal with all its short- and long-term effects. I found this feeling of loss of control unbearable – how could I actively participate in my treatment? It was in fact almost exactly a year ago, on the day when I was told that I would never be able to have children, that I decided that I did have to find a way to get back in control. Enough was enough!
My first ‘contact’ with what we call complementary therapies was through psychological therapy. Talking to a trained counsellor week after week helped me to put words on all the emotions I was going through. It enabled me to deal with my fears and my frustrations, but more importantly, it provided me with a sense of empowerment. I was fighting my cancer and its consequences intellectually and emotionally. By understanding and accepting my feelings and my reactions, I was actually ‘digesting’ this cancer. I was dealing with it.
Another complementary therapy played a fundamental part in my recovery process. A few months after the surgeon had removed the lymph nodes in my abdomen I developed lymphoedema in both legs. I was advised to find a practitioner who could perform manual lymphatic drainage (a type of massage) in order to reduce the swelling and try to create a ‘diversion’ for the lymph. Luckily, I managed to find a very good physiotherapist. I had MLD twice a week, for months and months. It helped me to deal with the side effects of the treatment and ultimately enabled me to get back in shape. The swelling has gone and I am now able to go back to the gym – eight months ago it would have been totally unthinkable. The therapy was remarkably successful. In addition to its physical benefits, it allowed me to feel that I was actively working to make my body better. I felt that my physiotherapist and I were very much working together and his constant support played a considerable part in my dealing with lymphoedema.
There is such a wide variety of complementary therapies available that anyone should be able to find something to help them deal with the stress or the physical side effects of cancer treatment. Relaxation, yoga, aromatherapy and massage, for example, are good ways of finding a bit of respite in those trying times.
As the psychological therapy made me mentally stronger, the lymphatic drainage sessions made me physically stronger. I can say from experience that a lot of comfort and support can be found in complementary therapies and that, in the end, they helped me to get back in control and back in shape.
When choosing a therapy, it can be helpful to think about how it may benefit you, what you would like to do, if there are any safety issues and how much the treatment costs. It is important to bear in mind that some complementary therapies may not be suitable if you have a particular type of cancer or may not be suitable to use with some treatments.
Macmillan also had a web chat about complementary therapies in September, where people logged on and asked questions to a nurse. You can read the transcript here.
I hope you’ve found this blog useful. All stories are unique. All of us will have different tastes and needs but I hope you find something that works for you.
