On April 13th, the Cancer Medicine journal published the findings of a study on the effects of Energy Healing, or Energy Medicine (e.g., Reiki or therapeutic touch, the ability to manipulate a patient’s human energy field), on one of the most lethal forms of cancer. This new study, led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Peiying Yang, Professor of Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine at UT MD Anderson and, Lorenzo Cohen, Director of the Integrative Medicine Program at UT MD Anderson, reveals that Biofield Therapy (BT) – a non-invasive practitioner-administered therapy – can slow the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer in a significant way.
This study, conducted over four years, is very likely one of the most comprehensive investigations to date on the biological effects of BT, a form of therapy commonly used in traditional societies – think here about all the medicines characterized as alternative medicines, for example, where “energy” is part of the healing process. The biological mechanisms at play in BT remain poorly understood by science. Using rigorous, strict experimental controls and three independent biofield practitioners, the researchers showed that BT significantly reduced cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. In mouse studies, the spread of cancer to the liver was reduced by more than 50%. Since these experiments were conducted on cells and animals before any testing on humans, these results also cannot be explained by the placebo effect, which is often used to dismiss energy healing practices.
This is exciting news for medicine and the fight against pancreatic cancer! As Dr. Lorenzo Cohen mentions, “this could open new doors not only for how we understand cancer and its treatment, especially in combination with standard care, but for how we approach health and healing more broadly”. Validating energy healing through rigorous science would fundamentally change its standing, establishing it as a reliable, evidence-based approach to health. What is even more interesting is that this is not an isolated or the first study on BT or energy healing, but a significant one by its rigour, scope and findings. Such findings invite us to look in a new way at all the previous studies on energy healing, like BT, distant healing, and even all the traditional non-invasive forms of medicine. Behind the results of this study, and previous ones on energy healing, is a new hope for treatments in the future, also a completely new way of thinking about medicine in front of us, where energy plays a key role, and which is just waiting for us to explore and understand it better…
For readers interested in learning more about this specific study and energy healing in general, here is the link to a series of podcasts on the topic and websites explaining the findings:
- https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/study-finds-biofield-therapy-slows-pancreatic-cancer-progression-and-reduces-metastasis
- https://www.phenomenahealing.com/mdandersonresearch
