TEXT

Music therapy with cancer patients

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, in Germany and in many other industrialized countries. In 2007, about 12 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide with a mortality rate of 7.6 million (American Cancer Society, 2007). In the industrial countries, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men are prostate cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Women are most commonly diagnosed with breast cancer, gastric cancer and lung cancer.

The symptoms of cancer depend on the type of the disease, but there are common symptoms caused by cancer and/or by its medical treatment (e.g., chemotherapy and radiation). Common physical symptoms are pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, nausea (feeling sick, vomiting), dizziness, limited physical activity, hair loss, a sore mouth/throat and bowel problems. Cancer also often causes psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, mood disturbances, stress, insecurity, grief and decreased self-esteem. This, in turn, can implicate social consequences. Social isolation can occur due to physical or psychological symptoms (for example, feeling too tired to meet friends, cutting oneself off due to depressive complaints).

Besides conventional pharmacological treatments of cancer, there are treatments to meet psychological and physical needs of the patient. Psychological consequences of cancer, such as depression, anxiety or loss of control, can be counteracted by psychotherapy. For example, within cognitive therapy cancer patients may develop coping strategies to handle the disease. Research indicates that music therapy, which is a form of psychotherapy, can have positive effects on both physiological and psychological symptoms of cancer patients as well as in acute or palliative situations.

There are several definitions of music therapy. According to the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT, 1996), music therapy is: “the use of music and/or its music elements (sound, rhythm, melody and harmony) by a qualified music therapist, with a client or group, in a process designed to facilitate and promote communication, relationship, learning, mobilization, expression, organization, and other relevant therapeutic objectives, in order to meet physical, emotional, mental, social and cognitive needs”.

The Dutch Music Therapy Association (NVCT, 1999) defines music therapy as “a methodological form of assistance in which musical means are used within a therapeutic relation to manage changes, developments, stabilisation or acceptance on the emotional, behavioural, cognitive, social or on the physical field”.

The assumption is that the patient's musical behaviour conforms to their general behaviour. The starting points are the features of the patient's specific disorder or disease pattern. There is an analogy between psychological problems and musical behaviour, which means that emotions can be expressed musically. For patients who have difficulties in expressing emotions, music therapy can be a useful medium. Music therapy might be a useful intervention for breast cancer patients in order to facilitate and enhance their emotional expressivity. Besides analogy, there are further qualities of music that can be beneficial within therapeutic treatment. One of these qualities is symbolism: music can symbolize persons, objects, incidents, experiences or memories of daily life. Therefore, music is a reality, which represents another reality. The symbolism of the musical reality enables the patient to deal safely with the other reality for it evokes memories about persons, objects or incidents. These associations can be perceived as positive or negative, so they release emotions in the patient.

Music therapy both addresses physical and psychological needs of the patient. Numerous studies indicate that music therapy can be beneficial to both acute cancer patients and palliative cancer patients in the final stage of disease.

Most research with acute cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, surgery or stem cell transplantation examined the effectiveness of receptive music therapy. Listening to music during chemotherapy, either played live by the music therapist or from tape has a positive effect on pain perception, relaxation, anxiety and mood. There was also found a decrease in diastolic blood pressure or heart rate and an improvement in fatigue; insomnia and appetite loss could be significantly decreased in patients older than 45 years. Further improvements by receptive music therapy were found for physical comfort, vitality, dizziness and tolerability of the chemotherapy. A study with patients undergoing surgery found that receptive music therapy led to decreased anxiety, stress and relaxation levels before, during and after surgery. Music therapy can also be applied in palliative situations, for example to patients with terminal cancer who live in hospices.

Studies indicate that music therapy may be beneficial for cancer patients in acute and palliative situations, but the benefits of music therapy for convalescing cancer patients remain unclear. Whereas music therapy interventions for acute and palliative patients often focus on physiological and psychosomatic symptoms, such as pain perception and reducing medical side-effects, music therapy with posthospital curative treatment could have its main focus on psychological aspects. A cancer patient is not free from cancer until five years after the tumour ablation. The patient fears that the cancer has not been defeated. In this stage of the disease, patients frequently feel insecure, depressive and are emotionally unstable. How to handle irksome and negative emotions is an important issue for many oncology patients. After the difficult period of the medical treatment, which they often have overcome in a prosaic way by masking emotions, patients often express the wish to become aware of themselves again. They may wish to grapple with negative emotions due to their disease. Other patients wish to experience positive feelings, such as enjoyment and vitality.

The results indicate that music therapy can also have positive influences on well-being of cancer patients in the post-hospital curative stage as well as they offer valuable information about patients' needs in this state of treatment and how effects can be dealt with properly.

(Adapted from https://essay.utwente.nl/59115/1/scriptie_F_Teiwes.pdf - Access on 25/02/19)

TEXT

Music therapy with cancer patients

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, in Germany and in many other industrialized countries. In 2007, about 12 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide with a mortality rate of 7.6 million (American Cancer Society, 2007). In the industrial countries, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men are prostate cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Women are most commonly diagnosed with breast cancer, gastric cancer and lung cancer.

The symptoms of cancer depend on the type of the disease, but there are common symptoms caused by cancer and/or by its medical treatment (e.g., chemotherapy and radiation). Common physical symptoms are pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, nausea (feeling sick, vomiting), dizziness, limited physical activity, hair loss, a sore mouth/throat and bowel problems. Cancer also often causes psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, mood disturbances, stress, insecurity, grief and decreased self-esteem. This, in turn, can implicate social consequences. Social isolation can occur due to physical or psychological symptoms (for example, feeling too tired to meet friends, cutting oneself off due to depressive complaints).

Besides conventional pharmacological treatments of cancer, there are treatments to meet psychological and physical needs of the patient. Psychological consequences of cancer, such as depression, anxiety or loss of control, can be counteracted by psychotherapy. For example, within cognitive therapy cancer patients may develop coping strategies to handle the disease. Research indicates that music therapy, which is a form of psychotherapy, can have positive effects on both physiological and psychological symptoms of cancer patients as well as in acute or palliative situations.

There are several definitions of music therapy. According to the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT, 1996), music therapy is: “the use of music and/or its music elements (sound, rhythm, melody and harmony) by a qualified music therapist, with a client or group, in a process designed to facilitate and promote communication, relationship, learning, mobilization, expression, organization, and other relevant therapeutic objectives, in order to meet physical, emotional, mental, social and cognitive needs”.

The Dutch Music Therapy Association (NVCT, 1999) defines music therapy as “a methodological form of assistance in which musical means are used within a therapeutic relation to manage changes, developments, stabilisation or acceptance on the emotional, behavioural, cognitive, social or on the physical field”.

The assumption is that the patient's musical behaviour conforms to their general behaviour. The starting points are the features of the patient's specific disorder or disease pattern. There is an analogy between psychological problems and musical behaviour, which means that emotions can be expressed musically. For patients who have difficulties in expressing emotions, music therapy can be a useful medium. Music therapy might be a useful intervention for breast cancer patients in order to facilitate and enhance their emotional expressivity. Besides analogy, there are further qualities of music that can be beneficial within therapeutic treatment. One of these qualities is symbolism: music can symbolize persons, objects, incidents, experiences or memories of daily life. Therefore, music is a reality, which represents another reality. The symbolism of the musical reality enables the patient to deal safely with the other reality for it evokes memories about persons, objects or incidents. These associations can be perceived as positive or negative, so they release emotions in the patient.

Music therapy both addresses physical and psychological needs of the patient. Numerous studies indicate that music therapy can be beneficial to both acute cancer patients and palliative cancer patients in the final stage of disease.

Most research with acute cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, surgery or stem cell transplantation examined the effectiveness of receptive music therapy. Listening to music during chemotherapy, either played live by the music therapist or from tape has a positive effect on pain perception, relaxation, anxiety and mood. There was also found a decrease in diastolic blood pressure or heart rate and an improvement in fatigue; insomnia and appetite loss could be significantly decreased in patients older than 45 years. Further improvements by receptive music therapy were found for physical comfort, vitality, dizziness and tolerability of the chemotherapy. A study with patients undergoing surgery found that receptive music therapy led to decreased anxiety, stress and relaxation levels before, during and after surgery. Music therapy can also be applied in palliative situations, for example to patients with terminal cancer who live in hospices.

Studies indicate that music therapy may be beneficial for cancer patients in acute and palliative situations, but the benefits of music therapy for convalescing cancer patients remain unclear. Whereas music therapy interventions for acute and palliative patients often focus on physiological and psychosomatic symptoms, such as pain perception and reducing medical side-effects, music therapy with posthospital curative treatment could have its main focus on psychological aspects. A cancer patient is not free from cancer until five years after the tumour ablation. The patient fears that the cancer has not been defeated. In this stage of the disease, patients frequently feel insecure, depressive and are emotionally unstable. How to handle irksome and negative emotions is an important issue for many oncology patients. After the difficult period of the medical treatment, which they often have overcome in a prosaic way by masking emotions, patients often express the wish to become aware of themselves again. They may wish to grapple with negative emotions due to their disease. Other patients wish to experience positive feelings, such as enjoyment and vitality.

The results indicate that music therapy can also have positive influences on well-being of cancer patients in the post-hospital curative stage as well as they offer valuable information about patients' needs in this state of treatment and how effects can be dealt with properly.

(Adapted from https://essay.utwente.nl/59115/1/scriptie_F_Teiwes.pdf - Access on 25/02/19)

TEXTO V

Romance das palavras aéreas

/.../

Ai, palavras, ai, palavras,

que estranha potência a vossa!

ai, palavras, ai, palavras,

sois de vento, ides no vento,

no vento que não retorna,

e, em tão rápida existência,

tudo se forma e transforma!

sois de vento, ides no vento,

E quedais, com sorte nova!

Ai, palavras, ai, palavras,

que estranha potência a vossa!

todo o sentido da vida

principia à vossa porta;

o mel do amor cristaliza

seu perfume em vossa rosa;

sois o sonho e sois a audácia,

calúnia, fúria, derrota...

/.../

frágil, frágil como o vidro

e mais que o aço poderosa!

(MEIRELES, Cecília. Romanceiro da Inconfidência. São Paulo: Global, 2015.p.150-152.)

TEXTO I

Trecho da peça teatral A raposa e as uvas, escrita por Guilherme de Figueiredo. A cena ocorre na cidade de Samos (Grécia antiga ), na casa de Xantós, um filósofo grego, que recebe o convidado Agnostos, um capitão ateniense. O jantar é servido por Esopo e Melita, escravos de Xantós.

(Entra Esopo, com um prato que coloca sobre a mesa. Está coberto com um pano. Xantós e Agnostos se dirigem para a mesa, o primeiro faz ao segundo um sinal para sentarem-se.)

XANTÓS (Descobrindo o prato) – Ah, língua! (Começa a comer com as mãos, e faz um sinal para que Melita sirva Agnostos. Este também começa a comer vorazmente, dando grunhidos de satisfação.) Fizeste bem em trazer língua, Esopo. É realmente uma das melhores coisas do mundo. (Sinal para que sirvam o vinho. Esopo serve, Xantós bebe.) Vês, estrangeiro, de qualquer modo é bom possuir riquezas. Não gostas de saborear esta língua e este vinho?

AGNOSTOS (A boca entupida, comendo) – Hum.

XANTÓS – Outro prato, Esopo. (Esopo sai à esquerda e volta imediatamente com outro prato coberto. Serve, Xantós de boca cheia.) Que é isto? Ah, língua de fumeiro! É bom língua de fumeiro, hein, amigo?

AGNOSTOS – Hum. (Xantós serve-se de vinho) /.../

XANTÓS (A Esopo) Serve outro prato. (Serve ) Que trazes aí?

ESOPO – Língua.

XANTÓS – Mais língua? Não te disse que trouxesse o que há de melhor para meu hóspede? Por que só trazes língua? Queres expor-me ao ridículo?

ESOPO – Que há de melhor do que a língua? A língua é o que nos une todos, quando falamos. Sem a língua nada poderíamos dizer. A língua é a chave das ciências, o órgão da verdade e da razão. Graças à língua dizemos o nosso amor. Com a língua se ensina, se persuade, se instrui, se reza, se explica, se canta, se descreve, se elogia, se mostra, se afirma. É com a língua que dizemos sim. É a língua que ordena os exércitos à vitória, é a língua que desdobra os versos de Homero. A língua cria o mundo de Ésquilo, a palavra de Demóstenes. Toda a Grécia, Xantós, das colunas do Partenon às estátuas de Pidias, dos deuses do Olimpo à glória sobre Tróia, da ode do poeta ao ensinamento do filósofo, toda a Grécia foi feita com a língua, a língua de belos gregos claros falando para a eternidade.

XANTÓS (Levantando-se, entusiasmado, já meio ébrio) – Bravo, Esopo. Realmente, tu nos trouxeste o que há de melhor. (Toma outro saco da cintura e atira-o ao escravo) Vai agora ao mercado, e traze-nos o que houver de pior, pois quero ver a sua sabedoria! (Esopo retira-se à frente com o saco, Xantós fala a Agnostos.) Então, não é útil e bom possuir um escravo assim?

AGNOSTOS (A boca cheia ) – Hum. /.../

(Entra Esopo com prato coberto)

XANTÓS – Agora que já sabemos o que há de melhor na terra, vejamos o que há de pior na opinião deste horrendo escravo! Língua, ainda? Mais língua? Não disseste que língua era o que havia de melhor? Queres ser espancado?

ESOPO – A língua, senhor, é o que há de pior no mundo. É a fonte de todas as intrigas, o início de todos os processos, a mãe de todas as discussões. É a língua que usam os maus poetas que nos fatigam na praça, é a língua que usam os filósofos que não sabem pensar. É a língua que mente, que esconde, que tergiversa, que blasfema, que insulta, que se acovarda, que se mendiga, que impreca, que bajula, que destrói, que calunia, que vende, que seduz, é com a língua que dizemos morre e canalha e corja. É com a língua que dizemos não. Com a língua Aquiles mostrou sua cólera, com a língua a Grécia vai tumultuar os pobres cérebros humanos para toda a eternidade! Aí está, Xantós, porque a língua é a pior de todas as coisas!

(FIGUEIREDO, Guilherme. A raposa e as uvas – peça em 3 atos. Cópia digitalizada pelo GETEB – Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Teatro Brasileiro/UFSJ. Disponível para fins didáticos em www.teatroparatodosufsj.com.br/ download/guilherme-figueiredo-araposa-e-as-uvas-2/ Acesso em 13/03/2019.)

TEXTO II

Em 1934, um redator de Nova York chamado Robert Pirosh largou o emprego bem remunerado numa agência de publicidade e rumou para Hollywood, decidido a trabalhar como roteirista. Lá chegando, anotou o nome e o endereço de todos os diretores, produtores e executivos que conseguiu encontrar e enviou-lhes o que certamente é o pedido de emprego mais eficaz que alguém já escreveu, pois resultou em três entrevistas, uma das quais lhe rendeu o cargo de roteirista assistente na MGM.

Prezado senhor:

Gosto de palavras. Gosto de palavras gordas, untuosas, como lodo, torpitude, glutinoso, bajulador. Gosto de palavras solenes, como pudico, ranzinza, pecunioso, valetudinário. Gosto de palavras espúrias, enganosas, como mortiço, liquidar, tonsura, mundana. Gosto de suaves palavras com “V”, como Svengali, avesso, bravura, verve. Gosto de palavras crocantes, quebradiças, crepitantes, como estilha, croque, esbarrão, crosta. Gosto de palavras emburradas, carrancudas, amuadas, como furtivo, macambúzio, escabioso, sovina. Gosto de palavras chocantes, exclamativas, enfáticas, como astuto, estafante, requintado, horrendo. Gosto de palavras elegantes, rebuscadas, como estival, peregrinação, Elísio, Alcíone. Gosto de palavras vermiformes, contorcidas, farinhentas, como rastejar, choramingar, guinchar, gotejar. Gosto de palavras escorregadias, risonhas, como topete, borbulhão, arroto.

Gosto mais da palavra roteirista que da palavra redator, e por isso resolvi largar meu emprego numa agência de publicidade de Nova York e tentar a sorte em Hollywood, mas, antes de dar o grande salto, fui para a Europa, onde passei um ano estudando, contemplando e perambulando.

Acabei de voltar e ainda gosto de palavras.

Posso trocar algumas com o senhor?

Robert Pirosh

Madison Avenue, 385

Quarto 610

Nova York

Eldorado 5-6024.

(USHER, Shaun .(Org) Cartas extraordinárias: a correspondência inesquecível de pessoas notáveis. Trad. de Hildegard Feist. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2014.p.48.)

TEXTO II

Em 1934, um redator de Nova York chamado Robert Pirosh largou o emprego bem remunerado numa agência de publicidade e rumou para Hollywood, decidido a trabalhar como roteirista. Lá chegando, anotou o nome e o endereço de todos os diretores, produtores e executivos que conseguiu encontrar e enviou-lhes o que certamente é o pedido de emprego mais eficaz que alguém já escreveu, pois resultou em três entrevistas, uma das quais lhe rendeu o cargo de roteirista assistente na MGM.

Prezado senhor:

Gosto de palavras. Gosto de palavras gordas, untuosas, como lodo, torpitude, glutinoso, bajulador. Gosto de palavras solenes, como pudico, ranzinza, pecunioso, valetudinário. Gosto de palavras espúrias, enganosas, como mortiço, liquidar, tonsura, mundana. Gosto de suaves palavras com “V”, como Svengali, avesso, bravura, verve. Gosto de palavras crocantes, quebradiças, crepitantes, como estilha, croque, esbarrão, crosta. Gosto de palavras emburradas, carrancudas, amuadas, como furtivo, macambúzio, escabioso, sovina. Gosto de palavras chocantes, exclamativas, enfáticas, como astuto, estafante, requintado, horrendo. Gosto de palavras elegantes, rebuscadas, como estival, peregrinação, Elísio, Alcíone. Gosto de palavras vermiformes, contorcidas, farinhentas, como rastejar, choramingar, guinchar, gotejar. Gosto de palavras escorregadias, risonhas, como topete, borbulhão, arroto.

Gosto mais da palavra roteirista que da palavra redator, e por isso resolvi largar meu emprego numa agência de publicidade de Nova York e tentar a sorte em Hollywood, mas, antes de dar o grande salto, fui para a Europa, onde passei um ano estudando, contemplando e perambulando.

Acabei de voltar e ainda gosto de palavras.

Posso trocar algumas com o senhor?

Robert Pirosh

Madison Avenue, 385

Quarto 610

Nova York

Eldorado 5-6024.

(USHER, Shaun .(Org) Cartas extraordinárias: a correspondência inesquecível de pessoas notáveis. Trad. de Hildegard Feist. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2014.p.48.)