Relief of anxiety and pain in children and adolescents with cancer: Quantitative measures and clinical observations

Abstract

Abstract Children and adolescents with cancer, chiefly forms of leukemia, aged 6 to 19 years, underwent medical treatments which required repeated bone marrow aspirations, normally a painful and anxiety-provoking experience. Data were obtained in baseline bone marrow observations on 63 patients, who were then offered the opportunity to volunteer for hypnotic help in pain control. Of the 24 patients who accepted hypnosis, 19 were highly hypnotizable. 10 of the 19 reduced self-reported pain substantially by the first hypnotic treatment (the prompt pain reducers) and 5 more reduced self-reported pain by the second treatment (the delayed pain reducers) while none of the 5 less hypnotizable patients accomplished this. The latter benefitted by reducing anxiety. Short case reports illustrate the variety of experiences. Analysis of baseline observations before any therapeutic intervention revealed age and sex differences. The difference between self-reported and observed pain was not statistically significant for patients under age 10 but was significant for the patients age 10 and older (p < .001). There were minor but significant sex differences both in observed pain (p < .01) and in self-reported pain (p < .05), with the females reporting more pain.