Mental relaxation cuts side effects.

• Position: Side effects of chemotherapy - Special Newsletter Edition: Your Health

A mental relaxation technique can improve the attitude of cancer patients toward their chemotherapy treatments. Guided imagery, a form of structured day-dreaming, has been used to help control pain and ease stress during medical tests such as MRI exams. Ohio State University researchers have found that it also can help chemotherapy patients cope with one of the most severe side effects of their treatment.

While it did not reduce the frequency or severity of nausea and vomiting, "The patients using guided imagery had a much more positive view of their chemotherapy," indicates Lisa Troesch, nursing staff development coordinator at the University's Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute. "They felt more relaxed, more in control of what was happening to them."

At the beginning of the study, half the patients were put into an experimental group that practiced guided imagery. The remaining ones acted as a control group. The study followed these patients through three cycles of chemotherapy, which generally took three to four months.

The experimental group was taught the relaxation techniques of guided imagery. This involved closing their eyes, listening to soft music and an inspirational narrative on tape through a headset, and visualizing themselves receiving their treatment.

Patients were to imagine themselves arriving at the hospital, being greeted by...