Cancer Chemotherapy Gratitude Recording Story

I came up with the idea of a cancer chemotherapy gratitude recording exercise when Kim, my wife, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. At the time, I felt it was critical that she find a way to practice gratitude. I was concerned because I wasn't sure it could be done consistently. How do you stay positive and feel thankful when you are getting chemotherapy every week and getting weaker and sicker by the day? The type of cancer was quite aggressive and had spread to the lymph nodes under her arm. She also had a lot of calcification in the tumor. The oncologist and the surgeon were very concerned. They said that because of the spread of the tumor surgery was not possible at this time, so they recommended chemotherapy. They would treat the tumor aggressively with three chemotherapeutic medications. She was to receive one course of the 3 drugs intravenously every week for 16 weeks. She would be sick and she would lose all of her hair after the first or second dose. We both struggled with this because we would have preferred to treat this more naturally however because of the extent of the spread we did not feel there was another choice. She was reluctant to undergo chemotherapy but knew that this was the best decision. I believed that if she received the chemotherapy reluctantly she would have more side effects and it may be it would be less effective. I knew of the power of gratitude and wondered how she would be able to keep this up for so long with all of the side effects.

I decided I would make her a recording and put it on a CD which she could listen to while she was receiving chemotherapy. The recording was a gratitude exercise in which she was taken step-by-step through an appreciation process appreciating everything from the physicians and nurses to the medication to the needles. The physicians also told her that the calcified portions of the tumor would need to be removed surgically.

After only two treatments the examining oncologist and surgeon both were amazed at how fast the tumor had shrunk. They could not feel the tumor any longer. She continued her treatments. After 16 weeks she had a repeat pet scan which showed no live tumor activity. The physicians felt it was one of the new medications she had received. The medication had been available for two or three years and many other women had received it. They still have not seen a response like this. Even the calcified part had improved. Her hair did thin but most of it did not fall out. She was able to undergo surgery and have the tumor removed as well as the lymph nodes. All of the cancer that was in the lymph nodes was dead on pathology.

Again it is very difficult to know how she would have done without the gratitude process. However it is interesting that she did not have any of the usual negative responses to the chemotherapy. She had some nausea but no vomiting. Her hair did change and she did lose some but it did not all fall out. Her blood count went down minimally. Most importantly she does not feel the fear that many patients feel while sitting in the doctor's waiting room. She is now 4 years out and has no signs of recurrence. Most patients who have used the CD reported positive results, most commonly reporting a feeling of having some control. They also report less depressive feelings and less antagonistic feelings.

The recording on the CD contains an introduction on track 1which should be listened a few times at most and then can be skipped by going straight to track 2. Track 2 is a relaxation exercise. Track 3 is the gratitude exercise. There is relaxing music recorded in the background which contains a technology called binaural beats. This technology has been extensively studied and is an easy way to get into a relaxed state. The entire process takes about 25 minutes. It is important to use the recording while you're receiving chemotherapy but also on the days when you're not receiving treatment. To order the recording on CD click here