Music & Cancer - Live Music During Chemotherapy. Randomized Study of the Effect of Live Music During Chemotherapy Treatment

Main purpose: To determine if live music moderates the level of chemotherapy related anxiety, in patients with haematological cancer

The investigators hypothesize that live music:

1. Have an ameliorating effect on physical and psychological symptoms during chemotherapy treatment
2. May counteract the patients feeling of loss of identity and alienation in this particular group of cancer patients.
3. Is more effective in patients with good musical abilities.
4. Is more effective than taped music.

Method: Intervention groups:

1. Listening to patient-preferred live music during chemotherapy
2. Listening to patient-preferred taped music during chemotherapy
3. Standard care

Endpoints:

Primary: Level of anxiety measured by STAI. Secondary: Serum catecholamines.

Background: In order to establish the intervention procedures, the investigators have carried out a pilot study at the hematology department at Hospital of Southwest Denmark, including students from the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Southern Denmark. The pilot results indicates that live music has an uplifting, pain relieving, and then releasing effect and that music has a positive impact on hospitalisation. According to the evaluation forms filled out by 243 cancer patients, the music experience has provided human anchorage/cohesion as a counterweight to disease fixation and alienation Chemotherapy involves major physical and psychological problems. Not much has been provided in the clinical setting which relieves the symptoms of anxiety associated with chemotherapy. A review of the literature illustrate the need for developing new potential areas of intervention that takes into account, that not only do cancer patients face challenges in everyday life ranging from physiological changes over social to psychological problems, but also during treatment procedures, which may cause a higher level of anxiety associated with these procedures, e.g., chemotherapy infusion.This project investigates to what degree live music may relieve some of these symptoms during treatment for haematological cancer. The project is created in order to both measure psychosocial effects as well as direct stress measures, i.e. serum catecholamine. These physiological changes are measured in order to shed light on the mechanism behind the potential effects of live music on discomfort in connection with chemotherapy treatment.

Perspectives: The vision of the project focus on strengthening the cancer patients' ability to cope with physiological and psychological issues during chemotherapy sessions and to make the patients conscious of music as an option in these coping efforts. Hopefully, the results will provide a scientific basis for an evaluation of the perspectives and the potentials of live music treatment during chemotherapy infusion among cancer patients.