According to a survey, yoga, hypnosis, or even sophrology are acclaimed by a majority of French people as complementary therapies that can help cancer patients.
Sophrology, yoga, adapted sport, or even hypnosis, so many complementary approaches that seem to be particularly popular with the French for their ability to bring additional well-being to patients, and even relieve certain side effects of cancer treatments.
Indeed, according to the latest Cancer Barometer carried out by Viavoice for the Institut Curie (1), 63% of French people believe that these approaches are important in addition to medical treatments. Only 19% of respondents consider them to be unimportant and 12% as unimportant.
Another feature of this survey is that women are more favorable than average to these approaches, which complement medical treatments without replacing them: 69% of them consider them “important”. Conversely, men seem to be less confident in their benefits: 36% of them perceive them as “not important” against 31% of all respondents.
These psycho-corporal therapies, which in some patients make it possible to alleviate physical and psychological suffering (chronic pain, nausea, insomnia, anxiety, etc.) are also beginning to be integrated into the care of patients within health establishments. This is the case, for example, at the Institut Curie Hospital where more than ten doctors and caregivers can, for example, offer hypnosis treatment.
“This is an essential transitional aid that we offer to patients who need it, in addition to specific cancer treatments. Because the success of a therapy also depends on psychological well-being, ”underlines Dr Sylvie Dolbeault, psychiatrist, head of the psycho-oncology unit at Institut Curie.
Finally, convinced of the usefulness of these previously neglected approaches, Institut Curie has also just developed the Activ ‘Program, an innovative system combining dietetic workshops and physical activity sessions for women who have been treated for breast cancer. .
(1) Viavoice survey carried out by telephone from June 8 to August 3, 2013 for the Institut Curie, with a sample of 1,008 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over.
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