Standard treatment for high-grade, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acute leukemia includes intensive chemotherapy, which requires a 4-week hospital stay in protective isolation. Patients treated in isolation units can experience elevated levels of psychological distress. Both guided imagery and music therapy have shown promise as intervention techniques to improve mood in cancer patients other than acute leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients Therefore, the overall goal of this study is to explore the effect of a music imagery intervention on general anxiety, affect, and fatigue in patients receiving intensive chemotherapy for acute leukemia or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma The proposed pilot utilizes an experimental repeated measures design to evaluate the effects of a music imagery intervention on general anxiety, affect, and fatigue. A sample of 60 patients will be randomly assigned to standard care plus music imagery or standard care. Individuals assigned to the standard care plus music imagery group will receive a 45-minute, weekly music imagery session with a music therapist. Individuals assigned to standard care will receive standard treatment, which includes hospital admission for induction chemotherapy. All subjects will complete repeated measures of general anxiety, affect, and fatigue.
| Burns, Debra S; Azzouz, Faouzi; Sledge, Renata et al. (2008) Music imagery for adults with acute leukemia in protective environments: a feasibility study. Support Care Cancer 16:507-13 |
