Application of therapeutic touch in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy

Therapeutic Touch (TT) is a complementary technique used by nurses and other health professionals around the world and it may offer a powerful non-invasive way of enhancing relaxation, reducing anxiety, controlling pain and other effects. Originally described by Dolores Krieger, a nurse, therapeutic touch - also called Krieger-Kunz Method - is derived form the ancient art of laying-on of hands. Krieger believes that universality of laying-on of hands is a fundamental characteristic of people and therefore using hands to help or heal is a natural human potential. Different from must of the laying-on of hands used around the world by the most different ways, Therapeutic Touch has no religious basis and does not require a declaration of faith from the subject of the therapist to be effective. It requires, however, the concious intent of the therapist to repattern the human energy field. This study´s propose was to explore the effects of the complementary treatment with the non-contact Therapeutic Touch applied to women with breast cancer under FEC chemotherapy protocol. The development of the research was held at Hospital São Paulo Chemotherapy Sector, at the Federal University of São Paulo´s Nursing Attendance and Education Center at the Women´s Diseases Reference Center of São Paulo. The population of the study consisted of 60 women with breast cancer under FEC chemotherapy protocol (new cases), categorized by aleatory choice in two groups: 30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group. Data were collected from January to September of 2000. The hypothesis - confirmed at the end of the statistical analysis with significant results - was that TT would decrease the occurence of collateral undesirable side effects of FEC over the digestive system like nausea, vomiting, mucositys, anorexy, abnominal pain, pyrosis, diarrhea and obstipation. There were compared too the hemoglobin blood rate and the Corporeal Mass Index between the control and experimental groups with a result significant for the application of TT to keep the stability of hemoglobin and the weight to the experimental group. By its results, the study concludes that TT is an important tool to Oncology nurses in order to provide nursing assistance to human beings under chemotherapy treatment with the goal of reaching a better quality of life to them.