Staff Comments

Professor Anthony Goldstone

Professor of Haematology & Director of Cancer Services NLCN
Today, the approach to cancer care has shifted appropriately to a much more holistic one. The needs of the whole patient in the assessment of the needs for therapy and palliation are becoming evermore prominent and appropriately so. Complementary therapy which includes aromatherapy, counselling, healing, hypnotherapy, massage, reiki and reflexology is clearly being shown to be vastly appreciated by many cancer patients. In haematology where treatments for leukaemia and lymphoma including transplantation means that many patients are in hospitals for weeks or even months, the need for supportive complementary therapy and its effectiveness in patients is very strong indeed. Today we are also entering the era where appropriate scientific studies of complementary therapy will begin to show specific improvements in outcome for some patients. 

The UCH Trust has had a strong interest for some years already in complementary therapy for its patients within cancer care. Much of this resource has had to be achieved through stakeholder, patient and relative donation and by the raising of sums through charitable funds. It is unlikely that this situation will change radically in the short term. We believe that support for this kind of therapy, outside what the NHS is able to do, will make an enormous difference to the quality of life for many patients.

Stephen Rowley

Lead Cancer Nurse at UCH
Make no mistake; whilst more intensive and longer lasting cancer treatments improve cancer survival rates, chemotherapy and radiotherapy still have the potential to grossly debilitate patients physically and mentally. The challenge for us is to better support patients during their cancer journey. Nowadays, we have never been as well armed or informed to counter the negative side-effects of cancer treatments by using the positive effects of complementary therapies alongside conventional medicine. It’s a perfect combination. We are striving towards providing this model of care to all our cancer patients rather than to just a few – and to pave the road towards making the UCH model a NHS standard. 

Consultant Paediatric/Adolescent Oncologist Dr Maria Michelagnoli

 

In support of the complementary role of healers within  paediatric and adolescent practice.

I am a paediatric and adolescent oncologist at the University College Hospital.  We have been privileged to have a team of healers working alongside ourselves for the past number of years.  In fact, the team have become integral members of our paediatric and adolescent multidisciplinary teams.

They have provided complementary roles in many circumstances including troubled/anxious children and young people and their families, are supportive of those chronically unwell and have been utilised for specific difficulties such as needle-phobia.  In addition, they have provided important staff support; the roles are varied and dependent on the preferences of families and children.

In particular, we found no conflict of interest with ‘spiritual healing' proffered by religious groups.  It is hard to imagine how the service would function without the support and dedication of our particular team.

I can't recommend enough the value of this resource within the service.