HOW THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER USE MEDITATION AS A TREATMENT

HOW THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER USE MEDITATION AS A TREATMENT
BY SAMANTHA HARRIS
Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be devastating. Such news can trigger overwhelming feelings of helplessness or depression. Patients and family alike may not know what to expect during this troubling time. The reality of the situation cannot be avoided though, and coping can prove difficult. Where physical treatments may fail, the ascension of one’s spirit can give miraculous results. Nurturing your soul through meditation can be a great way to increase health, happiness, and overall well being.
Certain terminal cancer’s, such as mesothelioma, have a grim prognosis. The mesothelioma life expectancy is generally eight to fourteen months after diagnosis. In instances like this where traditional medicine has been ineffective, the healing light of meditation can empower the patient, allowing them to experience the richness of life in even the bleakest of times. An effective, holistic way to treat the discomfort of cancer is yoga. Stretching and breathing techniques that are practiced during yoga are able to bring a level of peace and overall awareness to one’s day-to-day activities. These strategies can also reduce stress and anxiety associated with the illness.
Because the symptoms of mesothelioma or other terminal cancers can cause severe pain, physical activities such as Yoga may be hard to practice. Coping with the physical pain of disease can potentially be the most difficult obstacle to overcome. Traditional pain killers, such as morphine, can cloud the mind causing a reduction in one’s quality of life during their remaining days. This is where meditation techniques can be extremely beneficial.
Breath meditation, in particular, is an accessible, effective, and soothing alternative to narcotics or yoga. When dealing with breathing meditation, the goal is to not only process each breath that enters the lungs but to process the energy that is brought into the body as well. Becoming aware of this feeling and allowing it to flow freely can help the body and mind cope with the physical pain of illness.
Often times, those afflicted with terminal cancers do not explore the prospect of alternative healing until their condition has significantly deteriorated their health. Sometimes it takes the diagnosis of a destructive disease such as Mesothelioma to awaken one’s soul to the healing nature of meditation. Because mesothelioma symptoms can take twenty to fifty years to surface in patients, many sufferers have lived full lives before becoming exposed to this practice. It is painful to know that those afflicted will eventually expire, however there is comfort in knowing meditation was able to bring peace to some during such a trying time.
It should be noted, however, that there are alternative coping mechanisms to terminal illness, aside from medication or meditation. Reaching out to one’s community can provide a kind of fulfillment and comfort that simply cannot be recreated. When dealing with such circumstances, it is important to cherish one’s relationships, impacting as many lives as possible.