Aromatherapy And Cancer

Cancer – perhaps today’s most dreaded disease – can develop at any age in any organ. When given an initial diagnosis of cancer, most people experience a flood of emotions, mainly shock and fear. Family and friends are also affected, of course. Choice of treatment depends on the type of cancer and the degree of advance and may include radiation, chemotherapy or surgery. In addition to symptoms from the disease itself, the person affected may also suffer from the many side effects of the treatments.

Aromatherapy can be beneficial as a complementary treatment since the essential oils have properties that promote healing on physical, emotional and spiritual levels. Smells register in the limbic system, or “old brain”, that receives impulses directly from the olfactory nerves and subsequently triggers emotions and memories. This plays an important role in determining which oils to use, and because a person can be sensitive to smell, it is important to let them select acceptable oils before each treatment. Most importantly, an aromatherapist must consider a person’s overall health to determine if essential oils should be used and how they should be administered. Following are some examples of how aromatherapy may be used in cancer treatment, with the essential oils marked in italics.

Diffusing oils in a room is a non-invasive way to treat cancer symptoms such as vomiting (neroli, peppermint), nausea (ginger, lemon, peppermint), fear (rose, neroli, spikenard, vetiver), and insomnia (lavender, neroli, marjoram, valerian). A lamp ring that uses the heat from a light bulb is an easy way to diffuse oils into a room.

Compresses with hydrosols, also known as floral water, can ease pain (roman chamomile, peppermint), relieve constipation (marjoram, neroli), itching (roman chamomile, peppermint) and edema (lemon, grapefruit). They are useful after surgery.

A weak person may not be able to tolerate full body massage. Instead you can give a light, 5-minute hand and/or foot massage with gentle immune stimulating oils such as rosewood, bergamot, lemon, cardamom, almond or sandalwood that encourage relaxation and promote feelings of comfort. A footbath can also be soothing and beneficial.

The essential oils may chang, melissa and almond have anti-tumoral properties. Use combinations of rose, may chang and almond or almond, cardamom and sandalwood in a 1 to 1.5% blend with a massage oil.

Essential oils offer multiple uses for hospital and hospice workers. Family and friends can find relief from stress by diffusing oils throughout the house, as well as in the sick room. The stress and sleep deprivation that they often experience can be taxing on the adrenal glands. Neroli and black spruce oils can be used to help in such cases.

Some oils should not be used with certain types of cancer. While may chang is useful in stomach cancer, its use should be avoided on anyone with prostate cancer. If it is an estrogen-dependent cancer, avoid essential oils containing phytoestrogens and phytoprogesterones.

Aromatherapy treatment is an alternative that may be helpful in finding relief for physical symptoms caused by some types of cancers and the side effects of conventional treatments. It is also beneficial in treating the emotions that often accompany cancer and can be uplifting for the spirit – in the person affected by the disease as well as family and friends.