Music therapy not only resonates with cancer patients, it can actually aid in their recovery.

“I started my private practice using music therapy in 1978, and shortly after that created music at certain rhythms to lower stress,” said Janalea Hoffman, founder of Rhythmic Medicine. “I combined relaxation techniques with music to help patients heal.”

It worked. And a University of Rochester Medical Center study backs up Hoffman’s findings. The study was done with 42 patients in the bone marrow transplant unit at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center. The patients who received music-assisted relaxation and imagery reported significantly less pain and nausea. Their new bone marrow took hold faster, which is crucial, because it lessened the time they were vulnerable to infection.

While some doctors were skeptical at first, they changed their minds when they saw the positive effects of music therapy on patients. In her own research, Hoffman found that baroque music with 60 beats per minute lowered patients’ blood pressure significantly.

“The slower rhythms slow the body down,” Hoffman said. “If you can slow your body down physiologically, your immune system works better.”

This is important for cancer patients because they may use relaxation techniques but still have an elevated heart rate due to underlying fear and anxiety. Our bodies continually try to synchronize with our environment, which is called entrainment. If you go shopping at a mall where there is fast music playing, you may find it less than relaxing; your body is trying to synchronize with the music, and you’ll find it impossible to relax.

“So I have created music that has 50-60 beats per minute, and the melodies change but the number of beats doesn’t,” said Hoffman. “This effectively slows the body down so it is at peace. You can’t heal when your body is revved up.”

When your body is in a state of stress, your immune system doesn’t function properly. Research shows that positive hormones are released when calming music is played, which helps pump up the immune system.

One of Hoffman’s treatments, musical biofeedback, matches the body rhythm with the musical rhythm. The patient listens to the music for more than an hour, and their breathing rate and heart rate synchronize to the music.

 Musical acupuncture, which Hoffman said has shown good results with breast and pancreatic cancer patients, is a steady rhythm of tones brought into the body, calming patients at a very deep level. No synthesizers are used, only natural instruments like cello, violin, harp and flute. The music is played at 50 beats per minute.

“Cancer makes you think so many negative things,” said Hoffman. “You want to escape your body somehow; you want to get away from the cancer. Music helps patients go into their body and let the tones move the energy. Healing is all about moving energy.”

Hoffman feels natural healing is an important part of life.

“Our lives are like a dance, we ebb and we flow,” she said. “Music can be used to go into your subconscious and help your body heal itself.”