This section will answer some of the questions you have about Reiki, offering
links to pages on the International Center for Reiki Training website,
www.reiki.org.  For additional information or questions specific to Know Thyself
Healing Center, please contact us, using the form below!
Request More Information

For additional information about Reiki,
Know Thyself Healing Center, our classes or services,
call Diana at 404-432-2618
or Email:
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What Is Reiki?

How Does Reiki Work?

What Is Reiki Energy and How Does it Heal?

What Is the History of Reiki?

Reiki Questions and Answers

How Does One Learn to Use Reiki?

Reiki for Christians

What Is Karuna Reiki®All About?
About Reiki...
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Cancer Patients, Survivors,
and Caregivers

Complementary and integrative
therapies such as massage, reflexology
and Reiki provide comfort, relief and
better quality of life for cancer
patients, survivors, and their
caregivers.

See articles below.

"More Cancer Centers and Doctors
Encouraging the Use of Reiki"
by Jack Bleeker

"Oncology: Bodywork for Cancer
Patients, The Need for a Less
Demanding Approach"
by Gayle MacDonald

More Cancer Centers and Doctors Encouraging the Use of Reiki
By Jack Bleeker
April 2010

With groups like the Society of Integrative Oncology, a multi-disciplinary organization of professionals, touting the advantages of
complementary cancer treatment and recovery, new methodologies, including Reiki are gaining in popularity. More and more
cancer centers and oncologists are beginning to recognize the benefits that these treatments – once dismissed with a snicker by
those “in-the-know” – are providing for those who just don’t know where to turn to address issues like the pain and stress
associated with cancer and its conventional treatments.
  Complementary therapies - not to be confused with “alternative” therapies, which are unproven treatments – have gradually
made their way to the forefront of cancer care as well-known oncologists who are lauded experts in their field begin to promote
these supportive treatments as a natural part of cancer care. Even the National Institutes of Health operates a National Center for
Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researching complementary therapies and then recommending proven ones for
integration into cancer programs nationwide, including those associated with mesothelioma cancer.
  Lately, the ancient form of spiritual healing known as Reiki (pronounced Ray-kee) has earned plenty of attention as a potential
complementary therapy for all kinds of cancer, including mesothelioma. Rooted in Tibetan Buddhism, Reiki was “rediscovered”
in the early 20th century and became particularly popular in the late 1990s as Reiki Masters began to teach non-Buddhists that
life energy flows through all persons, this technique strives to increase the life force energy of a sick individual, therefore helping
him achieve better health and happiness.
  Like many complementary therapies, Reiki takes a holistic approach – treating mind, body, and spirit – and is safe and natural.
Many cancer patients who have tried it note an overall feeling of peace, relaxation, and well-being when the treatment is
complete. Totally non-invasive, Reiki therapy involves the laying of hands on the fully-clothed patient by the Reiki practitioner.
His/her hands travel through 12 different positions, staying in each place for about 5 minutes for a total of about an hour per
treatment. The feeling of invigoration or tranquility results from the fact that Reiki causes the body's molecules to vibrate at a
higher intensity, hence, dissolving energy blockages that lead to disharmony and disease, Reiki masters note. This assists in
controlling pain, easing stress, or lessening side effects of traditional treatments like chemotherapy, including nausea and other
debilitating problems for mesothelioma cancer patients. It is also believed to improve immune function.
  With continuous positive reactions from many cancer patients, prestigious cancer centers like Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center offer Reiki classes for cancer patients, including Sloan Kettering mesothelioma patients on a regular basis as well
as in-service classes for their hospital staff. Other well-known hospitals to jump on the Reiki bandwagon include Dartmouth-
Hitchcock Medical Center, Columbia Presbyterian, the Yale Center, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America. The list
continues to grow as patients use tools like the internet to advertise their positive reactions to this ancient healing art, enticing
others to give it a try.
  
References:

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicines (http://nccam.nih.gov/)
Society for Integrative Oncology (www.integrativeonc.org
Chemocare.com, http://www.chemocare.com/complementary_medicine.asp)
The International Center for Reiki Training ( www.reiki.org)
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (www.mskcc.org)

Oncology: Bodywork for Cancer Patients
The Need for a Less-Demanding Approach

By Gayle MacDonald

Originally published in Massage & Bodywork magazine, June/July 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.

Once on a flight to San Francisco, I sat next to a woman who revealed she had received chemotherapy for cancer. The clinic
where she had received treatment had a massage therapist who rubbed patients' feet as they received their IV medications. My
seat mate raved about how glorious it was. I asked if she could describe why the foot massage was so wonderful. It was
difficult for her to put into words except to say, "It restored my confidence in the goodness of humankind."

This is by no means a unique story. I have heard variations of it many times over. Massage gently coaxed Paul back to life
after months of treatment for tonsil cancer. For Christa, it was a ray of light in an otherwise dark world. "It made life worth
living," she once commented. Lois felt whole again despite never being cured of the disease.

I have also heard stories from cancer patients that disturbed or saddened me. Sue encountered a bodyworker who mistakenly
thought a deep massage following four rounds of chemotherapy would help to eliminate the accumulation of toxins. Instead, it
sent Sue to bed for three days with flu-like symptoms. It was six months before she dared try another massage. Following
treatment for breast cancer, Sonia returned to her weekly massage sessions. After the first massage, she developed
lymphedema from the use of overly vigorous pressure on the quadrant of the body in which lymph nodes had been removed.
Ralph sought out non-painful, comforting massage after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer. He knew his body had been
traumatized by the medical procedure, and he wanted to resensitize it. Instead, the practitioner was overzealous. The first time
she put her hands on him, the discomfort was so intense, Ralph almost punched her.

Many therapists, because of a lack of clinical training, are working with cancer clients using primarily their intuition for
guidance and hoping for the best. As these examples show, sometimes the outcome is absolutely sublime and at other times
massage causes highly unfavorable results. No longer is it necessary, however, to guess or just intuit how to work with this
population. For 15 years, massage has been making slow but steady progress as a complementary therapy in hospitals,
hospices, cancer wellness centers, and chemotherapy and radiation oncology clinics. Large, well-established institutions such
as Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Stanford Hospital and
Clinics provide a variety of bodywork services for their oncology patients. So, too, do small, lesser-known hospitals in cities
such as Toledo, Ohio, The Dalles, Ore., Anchorage, Alaska, Mesa, Ariz., and Boulder, Colo. Thanks to these and many other
pioneering programs, there is now a large body of collective experience and wisdom that can teach us how to administer
massage in the oncology setting.

In order to massage cancer patients, advanced training is often thought to be needed. I believe the opposite to be true -- the
ability to work with this population should be part of a basic curriculum and should be taught to all therapists who use manual
interventions. The rate of occurrence is so high, approximately 40 percent in the United States, that all bodyworkers will
eventually come into contact with people who are in treatment for cancer or who have a history of it. Therefore, it seems
logical that all touch therapists should have a fundamental understanding of how to administer bodywork to cancer patients.

Read full article at massagetherapy.com

Visit Mesothelioma.com to learn more about how peritoneal mesothelioma patients are using
Reiki as a form of palliative relief during cancer treatment.