This is a study conducted by Dr Judith Paice, director of the Cancer Pain Programme at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The patients were suffering from different cancers and were asked to attend art therapy classes.
The art therapy classes included drawing, painting, pottery and jewellery design. When questioned about the art therapy and their effect on the cancer the patient said that they experienced decreased pain, depression, breathlessness, drowsiness and loss of appetite.
Art therapy previously was used to treat patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addictions.
From this study it is evident that art therapy is very useful in treating cancer patients and relieving them of their symptoms. This is due to the fact that art therapy helps to turn our attention on something constructive rather than the sad nature of their health. The study was mainly conducted to show the effect of art therapy on depression and anxiety but it proved to decrease the tiredness of the cancer patients.
In Britain this therapy has been used since the 1990s. One such case in which art therapy has proved is that of the case of Nicola Wicksteed (song writer) who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. She took the drug Tamoxifen as part of the treatment for cancer and also took mistletoe extract, a blend of Indian herbs and art therapy (painting).
At present her tumor, which was two and a half inch completely, disappeared. She believes that art has the capacity to relieve people from stress. Stress has to be combated especially in patients suffering from cancer as if one is stressed it leads to development of cancer which is harmful. Creativity reduces stress and makes one feel better.The art therapy classes included drawing, painting, pottery and jewellery design. When questioned about the art therapy and their effect on the cancer the patient said that they experienced decreased pain, depression, breathlessness, drowsiness and loss of appetite.
Art therapy previously was used to treat patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and addictions.
From this study it is evident that art therapy is very useful in treating cancer patients and relieving them of their symptoms. This is due to the fact that art therapy helps to turn our attention on something constructive rather than the sad nature of their health. The study was mainly conducted to show the effect of art therapy on depression and anxiety but it proved to decrease the tiredness of the cancer patients.
In Britain this therapy has been used since the 1990s. One such case in which art therapy has proved is that of the case of Nicola Wicksteed (song writer) who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. She took the drug Tamoxifen as part of the treatment for cancer and also took mistletoe extract, a blend of Indian herbs and art therapy (painting).
This is an article that I found online at... I found it absolutely great to read when I was doing some desk-research in an attempt to start the project off. I had typed a few key words into 'google' and as expected realms of information came up, but not all relevant. As I started to read some of the articles, I found this article and case study really interesting to my subject area. I really like how it seems to prove that through the help of art, people can almost lose themselves in creativity therefore relieving them of some life threatening symptoms.
http://www.bio-medicine.org
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