Music Therapy in Cancer Care: What It Is and How It Helps

Music therapy in cancer care means working with a trained music therapist as part of your care. The goal is relief from things like anxiety, pain, and low mood. It is used alongside standard treatment, never in place of it. The evidence is hopeful, though much of the research is still early.

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) defines music therapy as a health profession. In it, music is used within a therapeutic relationship. The work can address physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs. Cognitive means related to thinking and memory.

Here is the key point. NCCIH says the term music therapy does not describe one specific activity. It describes the education, training, and credentials of the therapist. A session might involve singing, playing instruments, writing songs, or listening and talking about what comes up. What makes it therapy is the trained professional guiding it toward a goal.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) groups creative outlets such as art, music, and dance with other mind-body practices. These are complementary approaches. Complementary means used together with standard treatment, not instead of it.

Many music programs in hospitals are not music therapy. NCCIH gives an example: music listening offered by nurses does not qualify, because no credentialed therapist is involved. That does not make it useless. Studies of simple music listening show benefits too. One 2013 review looked at 26 studies with 2,051 people. It found that listening to recorded music eased anxiety in people waiting for surgery.

So the difference is not that one works and the other does not. The difference is a trained person who tailors the work to you, watches how you respond, and adjusts. If a therapist is not available, your own music still counts for something. One 2017 review of 14 trials found music eased chronic pain more when people chose the music themselves.

The strongest summary comes from a 2021 review of 81 randomized trials, covering 5,576 adults with cancer. A randomized trial assigns people by chance to one approach or another, which makes the comparison fair. That review found a large drop in anxiety and a large gain in quality of life. It also found a moderately strong benefit for depression and a moderate drop in pain.

Other reviews point the same way. A 2016 review of 17 studies found music may have a large anxiety-reducing effect in people with cancer. A 2016 review of 97 studies, with 9,184 people, found possible benefits for pain. Music helped both how strong the pain felt and the distress that came with it. A 2017 review of 9 studies found moderate-quality evidence that adding music to usual treatment improved depression symptoms.

Now the honest caveat. NCCIH says that because much of this research is early, few firm conclusions have been reached. Many studies were small. In many anxiety studies, the researchers knew who had listened to music, which can bias results. Hopeful is the right word. Proven is not, yet.

NCCIH reports that studies of music-based approaches generally do not show negative effects. Three cautions are worth knowing. Very loud listening can damage hearing over time. A certain song can stir up painful memories and cause real distress. And hard playing or movement can cause injury if safety is ignored.

There is one more habit worth keeping. NCI advises telling your doctor about any complementary health approach you use. Music therapy is low risk, but your team should know the full picture of your care.

Start by asking your oncology team whether the hospital or cancer center has a music therapist on staff. Many larger centers place them in supportive care, palliative care, or integrative medicine programs. Palliative care means the part of care focused on comfort and quality of life, at any stage of illness.

If no therapist works where you are treated, ask what the team suggests instead. Guided listening, with music you choose, is a low-risk option that some studies support. Ask about cost either way, since coverage varies.

• Is music therapy offered here, and how do I get a referral?
• What goals would we set, such as anxiety, pain, sleep, or mood?
• How many sessions would we try before judging whether it helps?
• Is there a charge, and will my insurance pay any of it?
• If there is no music therapist, what supportive care options exist here?

• Music and Health: What You Need To Know — National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine — National Cancer Institute