Use of Preferred Music to Reduce Emotional Distress and Symptom Activity During Radiation Therapy

Abstract

Music therapy has decreased anxiety levels in many medical settings. This randomized clinical trial examined the effectiveness of a music listening intervention, delivered by a board-certified music therapist, in patients undergoing curative radiation therapy (RT). Emotional distress (anxiety, depression, and treatment-related distress) and symptoms (fatigue and pain) were measured at baseline, mid-treatment, and end of treatment in 63 patients undergoing RT. Although patients who listened to self-selected music reported lower anxiety and treatment-related distress, there was a decline in these outcomes for patients in both groups over the course of RT. Depression, fatigue, and pain were not appreciably affected by music therapy. Within the music group, there was a significant correlation between number of times music was used/week and the change in treatment-related distress, suggesting that higher doses of music produced greater declines in distress. While these findings provided some support for the use of music in reducing distress during RT, further research demonstrating clear differences between intervention and control conditions is needed. Physical symptoms were not affected by the use of music over the course of RT.

Cortisol and anxiety response to a relaxing intervention on pregnant women awaiting amniocentesis

“…Age, culture, and socioeconomic status affect the way people respond to music (Dunn, 2004;Krout, 2007). In this study the participants chose what they considered to be the most relaxing type of music for them, following previous studies indicating the efficacy of patient-selected music in perioperative periods (Kulkarni et al, 2002;Clark et al, 2006;Mitchell and MacDonald, 2006). In general, it has been shown that music chosen by a subject tends to have the most self beneficial effects on relaxation and stress reduction (Siedliecki and Good, 2006;Pelletier, 2004;Krout, 2007).…”

Potential role of mind-body therapies in cancer survivorship

“…123 In a randomized trial of cancer patients who were receiving radiation therapy (n 5 63), nonsignificant trends in stress reduction were observed in the music condition when compared with controls who did not receive music. 124 Significant results were seen in a randomized clinical trial (n 5 80) where terminally ill cancer patients who were receiving hospice care in their homes were assigned either to a music therapy intervention or to usual hospice care. 125 In that study, those who received repeated sessions of music therapy showed significant improvement in qualityof-life scores, whereas those not receiving music therapy showed decreased quality-of-life scores.…”

Influence of Music Therapy on the State of Anxiety During Radiotherapy

“…In particular, along with various physical side effects, emotional and social problems, such as anxiety, depression, fear, loneliness, and hopelessness, may be experienced as a result of long-term treatment and uncertainty. [2,3] Among these, anxiety is one of the most common symptoms. The incidence of anxiety in cancer patients is >50%, and approximately 30% of the patients suffer from chronic anxiety.…”

“…Some studies have reported the use of music therapy before treatment [3,22], some before and during treatment [21], some only during treatment [28,29], and some over the course of treatment on patient's demand. [2,30] In the present study, we preferred administering music therapy to patients during radiotherapy.…”

“…[16] Although both quantitative results [2,21] and qualitative outcomes [22] of music therapy are promising in terms of reducing anxiety and stress levels in patients receiving radiotherapy, music therapy procedures described in previous studies are diverse. [3] Despite studies in the literature regarding the use of music therapy to reduce anxiety levels in patients receiving radiotherapy, no such study has been conducted in Turkey.…”