A Study on Analgesic Effect of Music Interventions after Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy in Cancer Patients

One of the most considerable side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in cancer patients is pain. The pain that caused by these treatments can include muscle pain, stomach pain, headaches and pain caused by nerve damage. These pains can get better after treatment sessions but in some patients, permanent nerve damage cause severe symptoms after treatment. The present study examines the palliative efficacy of active and receptive music therapy cancer patients after chemotherapy or radiotherapy. 184 young adult cancer patients in age range of 20-40 years, who were undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy, have been studied inactive and receptive music therapy intervention groups, and a control group. Participants were questioned by McGill pain questionnaire visual analogue scale in pre-test and post-test after 10 sessions of active or receptive music therapy(with each session of 15-30 minutes). Results indicated significant differences in reduction in scores of pain from pre-therapy to post-therapy scores for both intervention groups as compared to no intervention group. Analyses of Covariance applied to compare these three independent groups revealed that active music therapy had the greatest impact on the reduction of pain as compared to the receptive music therapy group. The study has great implications for analgesic effect of music therapy in cancer patients during chemotherapy or radiotherapy.