How music therapy helps adolescents with cancer cope ( decrease anxiety, depression )

1. Runninghead:MUSIC THERAPY AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CANCER 1
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How music therapy helps adolescents with cancer cope
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Abstract
It is evident that the adolescents with cancer diseases will have anxiety or pain in most
time of their life as they battle the condition. Researchers in the medical field have carried
several investigations to prove that music therapy is appropriate to help such population of the
society to cope up with the situation and feel some comforts. The music of their wish should be
at their bedsides in the hospitals or in any other place where the adolescent's patients stay as they
manage their cancerous conditions. In many cancer centers in America and other nations of the
world, music therapy is gaining an increased use of a methodology to assist such like teenagers.
The document checks on the several research works of literature to unearth the benefits of music
therapy to children in puberty stage towards living with the challenging situations of cancer
anxiety and related pains.

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How Music Therapy Helps Adolescents with Cancer Cope
Introduction
Music therapy is evidence associated profession and practice in which song is utilized to
support individuals actively as they work to standardize their health within a therapeutic
relationship by an accredited psychologist (Kamioka et al., 2014). Music therapists have
established music remedy medications programs appropriate to the strengths and needs of the
patients who may be in a group or an individual. The treatment plan is specific to each person.
The professionals trained in music therapy need multidiscipline courses such as musicianship,
theories of psychiatry, behavioral science, psychotherapy, and clinical experience to handle
client’s problems appropriately. Music therapy is especially crucial for utilization among patients
of adolescents or young adults who undergo uncertainty as they manage cancer or at some points
struggle to resolve and express the psychological related to the risk. Recent studies have
supported that music therapy usually help in comforting cancer patients.
Importance of Music Therapy to Adolescents and Youths
Though there is increased recognition of how music influences cognition, physical
energy, mood, or motivation to take initiation, some research fails to differentiate between the
music therapy and the environmental music. The main differences are that music therapy
evaluates the needs of the individual patient before inventing a therapeutic association as well as
adjusting music interventions at the occurrence time depending on the sick person needs. Such
components are missing with the environmental music. However environmental music can
benefit several patients at once. Surrounding music is sometimes refers to as music medicine
where the patient has a passive listening experience with playing music record. The nurse

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chooses the music without contacting the patient. The patient cannot even explore or reflect on
the meaning of the music (Bunt & Stige, 2014).
The actual process of music therapy involves writing song lyrics and producing videos.
Activities under music therapy may include movements to music rhyme, playing instruments,
relaxation practices, singing or songwriting, the patient performing musical tools of choice to
preferred tune, or the music therapist playing live instruments like piano or guitar. The use of
music is in the US and across other continents of the world. The purpose of musical therapy has
resulted in a more survival rate of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer diseases.
According to O'Connor et al. (2014), music cure has even led to an increased five-year rate of
survival which can reach an estimate of 85 percent. However, about 16,000 young adults are
diagnosed yearly with cancer ailments (O'Connor et al., 2014).
The malignant diseases in humans mostly interfere with health and general conditions of
the affected adolescents and youths. When providing music therapy, emotional and physical
support to the group should relate to the patient's psychosocial demands. It is further indicated
that in approximately 80 percent families, one or several caregivers undergo posttraumatic stress
symptoms as the adolescence or the young adult undergoes cancer medication. Nevertheless, the
discovery of creative therapies like music therapy has a positive influence on the psychosocial
well-being of pediatric sick persons put under medical settings (O'Connor et al., 2014).
In most cases, the treatment of music therapy encompasses association between the
trained psychologist and the patients. Therapists frequently use music to help facilitate the
patient’s self-expression as well as the relaxation while the sick person listens to the music. The
patient can also actively take part in the music by creating it or singing in a group or solo. Since

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music is readily adaptable to structure and period, it suits medical arrangements where
psychosocial intervention may require maybe only 15 minutes of relaxation before an over hour
personal or individual-session. It will facilitate self-expression as well as meaning-making. There
is no mandatory requirement for any adolescence or the young adult to possess experience with
music hence making it easier to promote patient participation. The patient who finds it
challenging to adapt to traditional therapies might discover music therapy as the best acceptable
alternative from the advice of a nurse (Raglio et al., 2015).
In the study conducted by Korczak et al. (2013), investigations in healthcare state that
music therapy assists persons with cancer to cope with loss, grief, mental, and physical suffering.
It further helps the teens and the young adults to establish, make, or bring back their identity. The
use of music has become common for use with under-eighteens experiencing cancer ailments.
The reports about adolescences age suffering from cancer-related diseases show that after
participation in music session or listening to music, the group finds comfort and support in
stressful situations. Parents or caregivers of such teen’s patients usually report an improvement
in communication, self-expression including internalizing and externalizing difficulties (Korczak
et al., 2013). However, it is still unknown the impact of music therapy on caregivers of the
adolescence and youths living with cancer. Medics have conducted many studies in the
interactive music therapy as well as the pediatric oncology.
Interactive and integrative therapies
Several types of interactive treatments, as well as integrative interventions, exist among
medical professionals. The integrative interventions are considered as a therapy that functions to
help the patient and their families’ medication requirements. They include virtual realities,

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creative arts therapy, mind-body techniques, manipulative activities, traditional healers, and bio-
field therapies. The creative arts therapy encompasses imagination interaction, communication
that allows the transfer of ideas between a professional therapist and the patient hence
participatory in nature to determine the treatment action. Research have shown that adolescence
that undergoes music therapy have reduced cancer pain as compared to similar group with no
music therapies (Orrigo, 2015).
According to Carr et al. (2013), interactive therapy indicates some validation of the
effectiveness of reducing anxiety and pain among adolescents and young adults with cancer. It is
imperative since the patient does not have to experience pain to limit the tension and the
associated pain of the condition. The procedure is further flexible; however, each patient has
differences leading to unlike results. The music therapy has a positive distraction, and better
therapist must choose both verbal and non-verbal means to assists the affected youths or the
young adult person. The process results to curing interaction which is beneficial for the patient.
Factors like increasing the mood of the adolescence or the feeling of well-being bring a near
excellent outcome to friends, family, and more importantly the patient. The provision of music
therapy is recommended for nurses who can teach parents of the patient on how to provide the
treatment (Carr et al., 2013).
Interactive Music Therapy Analysis
Interactive music therapy is one example of integrative treatment where music is the
principal means for the therapist to connect with the patient to bring some positive and creative
thinking. The music itself is considered as a long time universal language that penetrates a
person to beat other life stressful obstacles. Whether in demographic, cultural, socioeconomic,

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and diseases related barriers, music has a means of establishing a connection as well as relief to
persons in need and the discussion case, the adolescents, and youths suffering from cancer
diseases. Over decades and in all ages, music is credited to have the power that can create hope
out of darkness. In history, classical music was theorized to bring longevity including heath. In
the ancient Greek periods, hymnals were sung by the patients’ bedside, and sick persons felt
relieved or reduced suffering (Korczak et al., 2013).
Nowadays 100 percent of the US leading medical centers or hospitals provide interactive
music therapies treatments for patients. The leading hospitals in the country understand the
extended benefits of an interactive music therapy plans for many of their patients (Zebrack et al.,
2016). The person or nurse who is responsible for responsible providing music therapy must
have a minimum undergraduate degree in the music therapy course. The music therapist must
further undergo a day or 12-hours period of formal training in clinical education to qualify them
to sit music therapy exam that can award them the participatory license. Since the course is
multidisciplinary, the music therapist can work in any field of psychology to assist different
kinds of patients as well as in many areas.
Additional personal traits are needed mainly to help some cancer patients who possess
unique behaviors. Some patients fail to show how they enjoy the music therapy or the nurse
interaction. Some patients after observing the musical instruments can transform from anxiety or
depression to become relaxed and confidence even before playing the instruments. The primary
positive outcome is when the patient sits up, smiles and even start to show physical moves. In
most cases, caregivers also feel relieved emotionally by witnessing their cancer youths or
adolescents behave lively for the first time (Kennedy et al., 2014).

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Active music therapy will give the patient a room to determine the outcome of the
treatment through their imagination and ideas. The process acknowledges the active side of the
adolescents or the young adults hence important for the healing process of the child. When the
cancer patients find a perfect music therapist, the adolescence can have even a chance to walk
from the unwanted hospital environment and have full freedom of expression thus an escape
from the condition. The music therapist can bring several instruments and have the patient
choose the best hence establishing a world of empowerment for the sick youth.
Models for Music Therapy
The emotional support arising from music therapy cannot be valued (Kennedy et al.,
2014). Some three ways or models for conducting music therapy include the intervention
utilization of music-based activities to nurture a predictable condition as well as allowing for the
sick person autonomy. Another one gives the child dynamisms through the live music use. The
last model is where the music therapist facilitates an action that keeps the patient mindset central.
The nurse therapist includes all the three models to give the adolescence or the young
adult an opportunity to self-regulate their psychology or emotions as well as response to the
anxiety situation. The three models are again related to other two therapies of music that are
passive audiobook listening and passive music listening. The outcome of the latter researchers
reveals that it helps adolescents cope with the situation that is active engagement as well as face
effects. The patient has several choices to play and explore in an interactional and active
surroundings. Active music engagement is a type of interactive music therapy that can advance
patient’s positive feelings and even work to relieve the symptoms of cancer from adolescence or
young adult persons.

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Symptoms of Cancer in Adolescents that Therapy Music Treats
Adolescence and youths suffering cancer have the following symptoms. One most
common symptom is anxiety, stress, and physical pain. The stress-related symptoms may result
in a slow growth and withdrawal from the surrounding. Pain control is normally challenging as
there been no pain reliever apart from medication painkillers. The situation is worse in young
people as compared to adults. Many investigations show that interactive music therapy
encourages a positive healthy relationships as well as a self-image. It also limits the consumption
of analgesics (Ghasemtabar et al., 2015). More significantly, it is related to normalcy and some
good hope a hospital environment which is known for its mind-boggling activities.
Pain is very dangerous to any person more so to still growing adolescence and young
adults. When not taken care off at an early stage, it may leads to hopelessness, depression, fear,
and anxiety. It is additionally indicated that it leads to deprivation of basic needs of
independence competence as well as relatedness to others. Pains which are associated to cancer
ailments are outcomes of painful medications and treatments including the advancing tumors.
The adolescence body reacts to strange substance with edema, necrosis, tissue inflammation, and
other destructive changes of biochemical (Ramphal et al, 2011). The popular causes of chronic
cancer pains are metastases in the human bones as well as the neurons compression. Some
hospitals prescribe analgesics to relieve cancer patients from pain but there are several
limitations of the medication. It is because the medication never gives a complete pain relief.
Moreover, the patient using the hospital painkillers can develop some tolerance mostly if
they rely on pain relievers. The tolerance will come in cases where there is continuous need to
use the drug to limit body pains. It has been revealed that adolescents who undergo music

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therapy in most cases have fewer analgesic conditions. Healthcare facilities need to learn the
requirements of each cancer patients and in the case of adolescence or young adults they should
provide alternative pain relievers like music therapy. A hospital without a music therapist
professional should hire one to oversee cancer related treatments processes. Though music
therapies reduce pain in cancer patients, the provision of analgesics remains the primary pain
reliever in hospitals (Tyrer & Fazel, 2014).
Nurses function to conduct assessments for proper efficacy and dosages including
incorporation of music therapy along with pain medication to benefit a cancer patient. If the pain
persists after utilizing prescribed painkillers, then the doctor can advise for addition of music
therapist. However, reducing or stopping pain in adolescence and young adults is difficult
sometimes. First the subjective sensational pain makes individuals differ in their awareness as
well as sensitivity for pain. Moreover, there are inadequate studies to investigate adolescence and
youths’ pediatric pain management as compared in adult persons or elderly patients. In cases
where pediatric pain remains untreated, it can result in prolonged psychological problems. When
pediatric pain is untreated, it can lead to long-term psychological problems (Livingston et al.,
2014).
Pain may remain untreated due to some reasons in adolescence. First, the age may want
to prove that they are strong hence failing to expose their hurt to avoid disappointing the nurse or
caregivers. The young generations may also fail to understand the concept of pain accordingly
thereby failing to interpret the pain resulting from cancer correctly. Pain may occur in avoidance
of social environments hence anxiety and stress. When music therapist fails to give the careful

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treatment, the young person may create withdrawal and develop to become an introvert to adapt
to own copping means. Interactive music therapy is the most effective tool to deal with cancer
pain in adolescence and young adults (Bradt et al., 2011).
The Outcome of Music Therapy
The most useful music therapy should be interactive and engaging. As the patient seeks
mastery over their setting, they are in a position to have the independence to establish a safer or
secure relationship. Interactive music therapy fosters massive meaningful emotions, coping
mechanisms, and realizations. Most patients with cancer who underwent music therapy report
words like calm, peaceful, faith, memories, religion, increased motivation, spiritual, enhanced
connectivity, and soothing among others. Music therapy nature of companionship, as well as
camaraderie, lessens the feelings of loneliness and isolation including normalization of the
adolescence or the young person’s environment. Since the symptoms of cancer among youths
and adolescence are subjective, the treatment should be flexible to encompass the massive
emotional, physical, and mental effects of the stigma (Kim, 2013)
In a more in-depth analysis, music therapy is an excellent healing methodology for cancer
patients primarily adolescents and young adults due to their generation or age. Adolescents
usually become keen in a musical situation and enjoy the words if they love the song or the
music. Recent musical therapy studies have discovered that music is conducive to pain reduction.
Another investigation by Bradt et al. (2011) reveals that adolescents who are sickling from
cancer mostly favor familiar traditionally appropriate music.

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Other researchers merely record facial expression from adolescence patients and find that
persons who underwent music therapy show a happier face as compared to those who haven’t
received any slightest musical treatment. Studies have shown the possibilities as well as the
advantages of using music therapy in the care of puberty generation suffering from cancer. Such
musical medicines can be included as a complementary therapy to a conventional and treatment
care to provide hope in relieving the symptoms resulting from nursing and medical situations
(Weitlauf et al., 2014).

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Conclusion
Therefore, the use of musical therapy is a strategy or a health care intervention invented
to help care for the adolescences and the young adults including their immediate care providers
or friends to reduce anxiety, stress-related, and pain. It resulted from the complexities of
managing cancer-related problems in young generations. It has been found that music helps
strengthen ties as well as a communicating resource between the patient and family associates
including the hospital professionals. It leads to individualized, comprehensive, and humanized
care. It is a resource in the medical sector with less financial costs. It also brings a massive
positive quality result on the patient improvements. Moreover, it is a crucial tool for advancing
the mental and physical health of sick adolescence or youth who are managing or struggling with
chronic and acute cancer conditions. No matter, the advantages including the evolution of the
conventional therapies in hospitals that include music therapies, more extensive investigations
are still demanding to deepen the current knowledge on the subject and seek new ways as well as
the applicability of music with explanatory samples. Thus complete management of cancer
challenges among adolescents and young adults would be realized in Americans healthcare
facilities.

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