An acute complementary therapy service has been successful in helping oncology patients to overcome procedure-related distress

The aim of this service evaluation was to assess the value of receiving rapid stress management techniques (RSMTs) and complementary therapy to assist with procedure-related distress experienced by people with cancer. The evaluation was carried out at an acute oncology complementary therapy service among patients who had been experiencing difficulties such as needle phobia, claustrophobia and anticipatory nausea. Face-to-face or telephone interviews were conducted with 19 patients and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scores were collected pre- and post-interview. Four main themes were identified from the transcripts: being distressed, coping with distress, surviving distress and thoughts about the complementary therapy service.

Participants valued being taught RSMTs and receiving complementary therapy as it helped them to achieve a calm state before and during procedures.