To find out how art and illness affects the quality of life and the physical and psychological symptoms of people who have been ill with cancer. Art therapy is the use of art to help people get better. In this way, art takes care of the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs that come with having cancer. Art can be used in both an experiential and creative way. For example, you can see a painting in a museum or read about it in a book. You can also paint, draw, sculpt, bead, or do many other creative things with art.

People often have a hard time saying what they feel because of cancer because they don’t know how to say it. It’s not always easy to talk about how you feel, but it can help your loved ones understand what you’re going through (at least to some extent). They can then help you cope with this difficult time. It may also let you show emotions that you don’t even know you have, which is a good thing. Images and words are used by some scientists to show how people feel before they can talk about it. For this reason, art can be a way for you to get inside your head and feel what you are feeling before you can talk about it.

History

In some ways, art therapy has been around for as long as people have been around. Art was used to showing people how they felt, from elation and joy to grief and physical pain, long before the written word. During the 1900s, scientists began to realize that art could be used to help diagnose and treat people who had mental and physical illnesses. In 1969, the American Art Therapy Association was formed. This group explains to the public how art therapy can be used in medicine and makes sure that art therapists who are registered meet certain rules.

People get better when they make art.

Art isn’t known for sure how it can help people get better. It can be a time for quiet and relaxation in the middle of the stress of cancer treatment. You can do what you want to do on your own at that time. Take the time to paint, and you might change your mind. If you are depressed, you may be more likely to keep going with treatment. If you are nervous, you might feel calm and at peace, even though you are nervous.

Art’s healing power can help people with cancer.

When you are told you have cancer, you look for things that will make you happy. For many people, family or friends are important. Others like to go on vacation or listen to music.

It was Pam Lynch’s old friend, art, that she turned to when she found out she had multiple myeloma in 2016. Pam used to love drawing when she was younger. It was easy for her. …But she put the paintbrush and colored pencils away for almost 40 years, for no good reason at all! When someone told her about an art program at the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, her love for art was reignited.

A piece of art opened Pam’s heart again.

As doctors treated Pam’s disease, Pam spent her free time reconnecting with her craft. This is how it worked: It is part of the Arts and Medicine Initiative at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. It encourages patients to show their creativity.

Pam Lynch found the art to be very relaxing. This is how she documented her cancer journey: through a series of paintings that showed both her hardship and her hope. The art is now on display in the cancer center to help others be inspired.

Pam said, “It’s been a lot of fun.”

Putting things down on paper makes me think about them.

“You can’t run away from them or hide from them.”

Anyone who is a patient or a member of their family can take part in the art project. People can take classes on a lot of different days of the week.

An artist who works with the program says that this is a big deal in her life and that seeing how it helps other people is “beyond words.” arbeiten auf papier

People who have cancer should call the Virginia R. Cvetko Patient Education Center for more information about the art program or other programs that help people with cancer and educate them.

Painting changes the way your brain waves work, say scientists who have studied art therapy. Another thing that might happen is that it might change the hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain as well. Painting has been shown to change how people think about pain, which can change how they think about the world.

Cancer patients can get help from this.

It has been demonstrated that the benefits of art extend to one’s bodily as well as emotional well-being. Cancer patients may also benefit from:

More Emotional Health and Happiness

A 2018 systematic study of the effects of art therapy on women with breast cancer found considerable advantages, such as decreased anxiety, sadness, and exhaustion. Art Therapy.

Several other studies have also shown a reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms.

Studies have shown that doing art can help ease the symptoms of worry and depression that accompany a cancer diagnosis. Even more noteworthy is the fact that this benefit may last for a long time. Art therapy was found to significantly reduce depression and anxiety symptoms in breast cancer patients in one study.