Cancer occurs when cells in the body start to multiply out of control and escape the body's complex system of checks. Cancer will affect one in three of the population at some time in their lives, and as the population ages the incidence is rising.

Hypnosis can be used in a number of ways to help people through the different stages of cancer. It helps to reduce the stress, lessens the side effects of treatment, and enhances feelings of well-being. It can help people to feel more in control because it is something they can do for themselves. It is important to appreciate that hypnosis does not take the place of conventional therapies for cancer, but adds to them.

Enhancing coping skills

People with cancer may face intense fears, anxieties and frustrations. They are on a constant rollercoaster of hope and despair, courage and fear. Hypnosis can be helpful in alleviating the initial anxiety that accompanies diagnosis. It may be used to reduce anxiety by identifying stressful situations in the patient's life, desensitising the patient to them, and enhancing their coping skills. Hypnosis can be used to help patients to feel more confident about treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Suggestions can be used to help alleviate side-effects such as nausea and vomiting. Hypnotic suggestions for reframing can help people to come to terms with their altered body images. Some practitioners also claim that relaxation techniques, particularly the use of imagery, can prolong life by boosting the immune system. There is currently insufficient scientific evidence to establish the validity of this claim, although subjective claims are widespread.

Medical testimony

Debilitating pain is reported by 60-90 per cent of patients with advanced cancer. Most receive painkillers such as morphine, but some experts now believe that patients could benefit further by adding hypnosis to their treatment. In 1992, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that hypnosis, used together with pain medication, was more effective than other psychological interventions or painkilling drugs in reducing oral discomfort in people who had undergone bone marrow transplants for leukaemia.

In September 2004, Dr Christina Liossi, from the University of Wales, Swansea, suggested that there was tentative evidence that hypnosis prolonged the lives of cancer patients; this research was presented at the BA Festival of Science in Exeter. Dr Liossi suggested there was even evidence that hypnosis might prolong life in adult cancer patients. "There are some studies and there are some encouraging results from these," she said.

Adult cancer patients placed under hypnosis show fewer cancer-related symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and pain, said Dr Liossi. "There are some studies and there are some encouraging results from these that hypnosis can probably improve the survival of cancer patients. But at the moment there isn't enough evidence."