Art Therapy as a Positive Outcome of Cancer
Cancer is one of the leading diseases in the world. At one point, the death rate attributed to disease indicated that HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death rates in the world. However, cancer has rapidly emerged to be the leading cause for the high number of deaths around the globe. Apart from causing deaths, cancer has caused many victims to suffer from physical, psychological, and psychosocial stress, which have largely contributed to the deterioration of heath of the victims. Additionally, cancer, as a disease attributed to stagnant and unhealthy lifestyles, has shockingly affected developing countries leading to high mortality rates due to the expensive nature of cancer treatments. Cancer is indeed a gory topic to initiate a discourse, however, out of cancer, positive outcomes have arisen that have affected the victims of the disease lead better lives.
Foremost, it is important to define cancer medically in order to have an avid picture of the effects it possesses on its victims. The disease is actually defined as the uninhibited growth of abnormal cells throughout the body. The abnormal cells are described as tumor cells, cancer cells or more commonly malignant cells. The disease is not only limited to one specific part of the body. This is because cancer is able to attack and assimilate with the every part of the body with tissues. Therefore, numerous types of cancers and the malignant cells that make up the cancer tissue are further identified resulting from the tissue from where the malignant cells originated, for instance, lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of malignant cells within the tissue of the lungs. Therefore, with such advantageous information, cancer is simply denoted as abnormality in body tissues resulting from respective malignant cells.
One positive outcome arising from the detrimental effects of cancer was the use of art therapy as a novel way of strengthening and providing psychosocial support for cancer patients and victims. For patients suffering from cancer, it is necessary to incorporate therapeutic support, which is as important as physical support. This is because the psychological self of a person determines whether the victim in question will be able to conform to the various implications associated with the fight against cancer. For instance, the use of treatments for cancer patients such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy produces negative effects on the wellbeing of victims such as the loss of hair, which also produce negative effects on the psychological self of the victim. Therefore, art therapy allows these patients or victims to be in comfort as well as declare their position in fighting against cancer.
Additionally, cancer has also led to the documentation of art therapy as an efficient method for catering for the general welfare of cancer victims and patients victims working hard to fight against the disease. The article, “A Narrative View of Art Therapy and Art Making by Women with Breast Cancer”, by Kate Collie assesses the positive outcome of cancer on women victims by incorporating art as a form of recuperation strategy for women suffering from breast cancer. The use of art for breast cancer victims has been known to induce positive results in the physical and psychosocial welfare of the victims. According to Collie (767), art therapy and art creation indicate promise as opportunities for psychosocial support for women suffering from breast cancer. From the study performed on 17 women using art therapy, it was able to determine that art therapy is indeed a positive outcome arising from the negative outcome of cancer.
Collie (774) documents various narratives that were used to assess the positive impact of art therapy on the 17 victims of breast cancer. These narratives were based on four unique themes that were most vital for the women and other people fighting against the disease. The first theme, Art and Art Therapy as a Haven, documented the incorporation of art therapy as a form of inducement for comfort and declaration. Through art therapy, the victims were able to utilize visual artistic expression to make a clear representation of their emotional experience. The second theme, Clearing the Way Emotionally, enabled the victims to incorporate self-expression and process difficult emotions. The third theme, Expanding and Enlivening the Self, saw the women strengthen and encourage themselves through artistic expression. In summary, art enabled the women to value visual expression and use it to lessen the fear of death, increase the feeling of existence and hence, in general, meet their psychosocial needs.
Another article, “The Pictures of Health: Art’s Healing Powers”, by Iyna Bort Caruso, also attributes art as a positive outcome arising from the negative effects of diseases such as cancer. According to Caruso (2012), art produces a psychological healing effect on disease victims and patients. Caruso briefly goes through the history of medical technology in order to enable for the understanding of art and art therapy as a formidable way of positive influence on the psychological and physiological welfare of a patient. For instance, Caruso asserts that the rapid advancement of medical technology has eliminated the human touch. The elimination of human touch eradicated the provision of psychological support for patients hence leading to the psychological deterioration of a victim. However, with the onset of art therapy and its notion in the improvement in the physical, emotional and mental welfare of a patient, the use of conventional medicine began moving together with art therapy in order to establish increased positive results.
In the contemporary world, art is utilized for ailing patients due to its therapeutic benefits. For instance, art lessens pain in cancer patients. It also enables patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease to develop a novel communication language and fight amnesia. Additionally, the Museum of Modern Art in New York hosts a gratis program for Alzheimer’s patients every month whereby a vast array of modern paintings and other collections are used as platforms for mental stimulation. Additionally, health facilities such as Mayo Clinic provide a pilot program for people suffering from leukemia and other severe diseases, which induces a therapeutic effect on the patients and reduces their pain. Cancer support resource centers also offer regular art history and creation in their schedules in order to cater for their cancer patients who attribute their positive attitudes as well as reduced effects arising from their ailment to the use of art as a therapeutic method (Caruso, 2012).
Art therapy is indeed a positive outcome arising from the negative outcomes of sever diseases such as cancer. Indeed, art therapy has enabled patients to have strong physiological support as well as strong psychosocial support attributed to positive changes in attitudes and perceptions towards their sickness and towards life. Some of the supplementary benefits associated with art therapy have been noticed in patients who have the lowest functioning. These benefits include alleviation of depression, enhanced motor coordination and improved hand-eye coordination, which have collectively restored self-esteem and facilitated independence. Hence, using art therapy as an example, more outcomes that are positive can arise from negative diseases such as cancer.
Works Cited
Caruso, Iyna Bort. “The Pictures of Health: Art’s Healing Powers.” n.p, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. http://www.iynacaruso.com/article_pictures_health.html/
Collie, Kate. “A Narrative View of Art Therapy and Art Making by Women with Breast Cancer.” Journal of Health Psychology. 11.5 (2006). 761-775. Print.
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