Healing From Cancer

Meditation And Guided Imagery To Support Rapid Recovery From Cancer

Introduction
A person who has received a diagnosis of cancer has two issues to deal with: cancer, the disease (the abnormal cells and their growth), and cancer, the Illness (feelings of being unwell, uncomfortable and “sick.” As you listen to this program you will learn mind-tools of deep relaxation (meditation), focused awareness, and guided imagery (visualization) – self-applied techniques to enable you to heal. The mind–tools presented in this program can help you change your attitudes, positively impact how you feel and function, improve survival, and help minimize symptoms and side effects of treatment.
 
Many healthcare professionals believe that, based upon current studies, that maintaining a sense of strength and confidence and experiencing a sense of participating in fighting the disease, along with having a positive image of one's self conquering the disease can significantly improve both morbidity and mortality. The processes presented here were originally developed at the Cancer Support and Education Center, the first organization of its kind in the world. They have been subsequently inaugurated at thousands of hospitals throughout the world. They were originally developed by Dr. Miller and Maggie Creighton, cofounders of the Center, and Carl Simonton M.D., author of the groundbreaking book, Getting Well Again. Independent studies have supported the effectiveness of these tools.
 
When people receive a diagnosis of cancer, they often feel shocked and confused. The goal of this program is to help you formulate “An Answer To Cancer.” The meditation techniques and the cognitive restructuring provided by the guided imagery here and, as well in the supplementary products Dr. Miller has produced are those found to be most useful by patients in rallying their internal defenses against cancer.
 
People have many different beliefs about how to deal with a diagnosis of cancer. Some will accept whatever the doctor recommends; some will take radiation, but not chemotherapy and some the opposite, and some refuse both! Some look to their religious beliefs as most important in their healing, while others feel the most important is to trust science and good doctors. Regardless of which kind of person you are, you will find this a most useful program, it will help you be successful in healing, whatever other treatment you choose.
 

Contents – Track Information

Track 1: The Healing Image 25:39
You will learn to enter a deeply relaxed state of meditation and how to activate your mental imagery, the key to psychophysiological change. The imagery you select for your healing can be either realistic or symbolic; you might visualize white corpuscles in golfing the cancer cells, or you might imagine Navy SEALs swooping in to eliminate invaders. The idea is to choose images that feel empowering to you. The beautiful musical background was specially composed and performed for this program by Dr. Miller and Raphael (Fred Sharp).
 
Track 2: Targeting Your Treatment 31:28
Dr. Miller recommends that you consult competent professionals to advise you on the most appropriate treatment for your condition. The imagery on this track will support and enhance whichever treatment you choose (or support your body's natural healing defenses if you decide against any external treatment modality.
 
If you choose chemotherapy, you might imagine your treatment as if it were a cloud of insecticide killing a swarm of locusts. If you receive radiation, you can imagine dart-like particles flying towards a gnawing rat; in short, use whatever symbolic expression is most meaningful to you.
 
The more emotionally powerful your images are and the more vividly you can imagine them, the more effective they tend to be.
 

Purpose:
The purpose of this program and Dr. Miller's other cancer–oriented products are designed for use as adjuncts to any other cancer treatment you are undergoing, and to enhance the effectiveness of anticancer support group you may be attending. Our goal is to create healthy attitudes and mental images that can prevent or diminish the side effects often associated with radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy. Return studies show that emotional distress can play an important role in blocking the effectiveness of your body's defenses. Similarly, a positive expectancy contributes significantly to the speed and completeness of recovery. The “Will to Live” may be intangible and impossible to see under a microscope, but it does make a difference!
 
Studies have shown that anxiety and tension can slow the healing process; deep relaxation and positive imagery can diminish or eliminate this stress the body to heal most rapidly. As you listen to this program you will be training your mind and your brain to function in the way most likely to enable you to be successful in your healing.
 
 
How Healing From Cancer Works
Deep relaxation, meditation, and prayer serve to free the mind of distractions so that all its power can be concentrated within. In addition, free from stress, tension, and anxiety, the body can metabolize away the stress chemicals and create that deeply relaxed state that facilitates optimal functioning of the immune system and other healing activities of the body. As you listen and follow Dr. Miller's guidance, you will learn to use the powerful tools and techniques drawn from ancient teachings as well as modern neuroscience and psychology.
 
The guided imagery Dr. Miller presents was developed by integrating the most effective aspects of hypnotherapy, psycho-cybernetics, and cognitive behavioral psychology to engage normally unconscious levels of the mind. You will learn to use those inner images to concentrate the supportive energy of your mind on such activities as activating your immune system and enabling your body to focus your treatment on the cells you want to eliminate from your body. Learn more about how this takes place at Dr. Miller’s online Learning Center.
 

Recommended Applications:
Although the process taught here can be effective and healing for many different conditions, as well as for general stress management, they are most specifically designed for use by those who have received a diagnosis of cancer. They are very effective for use as adjuncts to any other cancer treatment you are undergoing and are compatible with all accepted treatment modalities.
 
The mind–tools presented here are often extremely helpful in combating the side effects that are so common with cancer treatments. Sometimes there are no specific treatments for a given cancer. In such cases Healing from Cancer can still be used to great benefit.
 
Even after the diagnosis of cancer has been made, there is often a period that must elapse before specific treatment can be initiated (it may be necessary to wait weeks before surgery can be performed, etc.). Using this program during this time gives the patient emotional support in addition to whatever specific healing they can initiate during this period.
 
Healing From Cancer is also helpful in relieving the depression, shock, and acute PTSD that often occur immediately after cancer is diagnosed, as it supports a positive outlook and serves to remind patients that we are not powerless against cancer and that a strong partnership between patient and healthcare system is the most effective strategy.
 

Important information and Contraindications
Dr. Miller strongly suggests that, although this program may be used in immediately upon discovery of your illness, you consult a qualified and trusted health professional as soon as possible, as inadequately treated cancer can be harmful to your health, and potentially, in some cases, fatal.

 
Detailed Description of Exercises:
 

Track 1: The Healing Image 25:39
Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed, turn off the telephone, and allow yourself to sit or lie in a comfortable position. Your goal will be to become as relaxed as possible. As you listen to this track you will find that the soothing voice and gentle music will draw your attention away from external concerns. You will learn to clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts and to systematically relax each part of your body. The relaxation you reach will probably be deeper than what you experience normally when you “relax,” and many people find they become more relaxed than ever before in their lives.
 
If you are unfamiliar with using your imagination, meditating or otherwise guiding your awareness within, you may need to listen to it several times before you begin to experience the profound levels of peace and serenity towards which you are being guided. Be patient; the more difficult you find it, the more valuable it will be for you to discover how to relax so deeply.
 
You will be guided to what Dr. Miller calls “The Healing State,” Link to Glossary a state of focused attention during which your imagery will be most effective. In addition, by finding mental images that are most meaningful to you, you will be most able to engage the ability of your brain and nervous system to create the inner conditions best suited to healing, comfort, and the highest level of function.
 
Dr. Miller will suggest that you call upon your inner healer. If you are a religious person, you may find that God, Jesus, or a saint, prophet, or other religious figures can best serve this purpose. On the other hand, you might choose a mythological figure, a cartoon character, a movie superhero, an animal, a color, or even an invisible spirit or energy as your inner healer. The more vivid the image of this healer, the more emotion it taps into within you, and the more you can let yourself believe in it, the more effective your inner healer will be.
 
You can learn more about how mind-body medicine works by visiting Dr. Miller's Learning Center. What we are doing is not hocus pocus, but solid science, and the more you understand the mechanism, the more effective it can be for you.
 
Track 2: Targeting Your Treatment 31:28
Because the treatments generally prescribed for cancer have significant side effects, patients often become negative about them. This negativity can often impair their ability to continue with the treatments, and even when they continue, their inner resistance may inhibit the ability of the treatment to work. As you listen to this track you will learn to make friends with your treatment, to welcome it into your body, and to visualize it bypassing the cells of your body and acting directly upon the cancer cells.
 
You will imagine that because it is bypassing the cells of your body, that this will block the side effects that might otherwise occur. People who do this experience fewer side effects. Furthermore, there is good evidence that the treatments are more effective. There is a high correlation between those people who had a successful outcome of their cancer treatment–even full remission, and those who managed to keep a positive attitude all the way through their treatment.
 
Dr. Miller highly recommends that you experience the DVDs presenting the interview with Maggie Creighton and several patients who have used these techniques in their work at the Cancer Support and Education Center.
 

Supplementary and related programs:

Awakening the Healer Within
Dr. Miller’s presentation, originally delivered at the Cancer Support and Education Center, presenting the basic concepts of mind-body medicine. An excellent way to learn about how all your mind and body interrelate, and how, by choosing wisely your thoughts and mental images, you can awake in your body's innate potential for healing. You will also learn more about how to use deep relaxation and meditation in your healing and enjoy several experiences of using these mind–tools.
 
Optimizing Chemotherapy
Designed to help enable you to maximize your use of your mind to support and facilitate healing of your body; provide healthful emotional support and balance; maximize your body’s ability to maintain its balance and health; diminish side effects and focus your chemo on your cancer cells.
 
Optimizing Radiation Therapy
Maximize your use of your mind to support and facilitate healing of your body, while providing healthful emotional support and balance and helping remove any possible internal barriers to healing. Learn to enter the deeply relaxed “healing” state and use the tools of imagery to help focus the radiation most effectively on the Cancer cells to be eliminated, while protecting your body’s healthy cells.
 
Accepting Change And Moving On: Loss And Letting Go
Sometimes serious illnesses leave you with losses – loss of bodily organs or functions, for instance. In addition, relationships change as well as how you spend your time. Each of these losses requires an inner adjustment. This program helps you through these changes through guided imagery and self-hypnotic mind-tools.