Teaching relaxation techniques to cancer patients

Abstract

Various stress reduction techniques have been advocated to assist patients in dealing with the stress of the cancer experience. One of the most popular stress reduction techniques is relaxation, a technique which may help cancer patients cope with pain and decrease the anxiety and side effects associated with various treatments. Due to increased patient interest and a need for further research in this area, nurses need to be knowledgeable about relaxation techniques. Current relaxation literature is reviewed and a plan for teaching relaxation techniques to patients is proposed.