Guided Imagery, Visualization And End Stage - Cancer
For many years I worked with people with all kinds of cancer at all stages. Visualization is a widely used technique to help people focus on the more positive aspects of life and therefore improve their health. The most profound experience that I had was working in a chemo clinic with many individuals who were end-stage and had bone mets. I found that the visualizations were highly effective with them. The clients were extremely receptive to this kind of work because of their questions about death and what happens after death. The weekly sessions eased their anxiety, helped them to plan for their families, clear up unfinished business and make peace with many life long issues. They were able to get unstuck and open communication with loved ones about their death. Many times end stage cancer patients are the most realistic of all. The families tip toe around their illness and hold onto hope far beyond what is realistic or healthy for them. Then, when the person dies the family members are shocked and unprepared.
Even doctors struggle with the issues of what to tell the patient and what to share with family members. Often a doctor will say one thing to a patient but behind closed doors with the staff, a much clearer picture is given. The staff is far more aware of the truth than the family members or, sometimes the patient. Usually a patient knows how sick they are and they don't even need to be told by the doctor. Some families will ask that the patient not be told the truth about their illness, but they are the ones who know the best how sick they really are.
Visualizations allow the patient to explore a world beyond this one. This gives them peace of mind when they can see or imagine a beautiful place that is peaceful and full of supportive beings to help them with the process. The visualizations I used involved "healing temples" with gardens and "healing masters". The kinds of experiences that clients had were amazing. One woman discovered her inner guide. His wisdom and reassurance helped her through her radiation treatments for lung cancer. Her cancer was caught early and the outcome was very positive.
Another client will always stand out in my mind. She was a very special lady in her 60s whose breast cancer had been missed. She was furious with the doctor who didn't listen to her concerns 7 years earlier and was in the middle of a law suit that she wanted to see through before she died. Her daughter was pregnant and she wanted to live until the birth of her grandchild. Through the visualizations she was able to let go of the anger about how she ended up with metastatic cancer which had spread to her liver and bones. She focused on being present for her daughter and was able to live two years longer than the doctors expected. She had vivid visualizations which included seeing her future granddaughter growing up. She had conversations with her granddaughter and saw that her adult children were able to manage without her even though they missed her terribly.
She went to the same healing temple each time and very often she and I would see identical scenes during the visualizations. I knew that we had arrived at the same place and that I was there to support her along with the many healing masters that showed up each time. Her anxiety decreased significantly and her relationship with her husband even improved before her death. They had had a strained relationship for most of their marriage and she was able to forgive him for his limitations and mistakes. Most of all, she was able to enjoy her time with her daughter with whom she was the closest. She never told her children that the cancer had metastasized and they were devastated when she died. They were confused because she had misinformed them of her condition so as not to worry them. This actually made their grieving process much worse than it had to be.
I had worked with hundreds of cancer patients and have seen quite a few die unfortunately. The saddest part is how many of them withheld information about their illness from their families in order to protect them. They thought they were doing the right thing but actually the grief was so much more complicated and the family often thought the doctors had made a terrible mistake that caused their death when that wasn't the case at all. When a person knows that they are dying, and patients often do, it is much kinder to include the family in the process rather than exclude them. Most people are stronger than others think and can handle the truth and the facts. We always like to hope for the best and wish for a miracle but sometimes an illness is clearly taking a person's life. The important thing at that stage is to make the most of one's final days and the best way to do that is to let others know the truth.