The sweet sound of support: Music therapy for cancer patients at Ohio State

Music is medicine at Ohio State, where treatment extends far beyond the bedside to relieve stress and other issues faced by cancer patients.

The number of people who have participated in music therapy programs offered by the OSUCCC – James have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the switch from in-person to virtual sessions. “We wanted to give people that human connection and feel cared for, heard and understood,” says Terel Jackson, MMT, NMT-F, MT-BC, the hospital’s music therapist.

Learn even more about our music therapy program on the latest Cancer-Free World Podcast. Listen via the video player above or on SoundCloud.

Music therapy helps with anxiety and stress, pain management and peripheral neuropathy, according to Jackson. In the virtual sessions, participants make their own instruments, using cereal boxes and boxes of paper clips or staples. They also wrote song lyrics to think about and prioritize their personal values, while also listening to recorded music.

Jackson describes music therapy as “a tool to help cancer patients make positive changes in their lives.” She leads one-on-one and group sessions and workshops, and she’s an accomplished musician who can play multiple instruments.

One of Jackson’s techniques includes the use of a Suzuki chime to help cancer patients “quiet” their brains. “Say your name, something you’re grateful for, take a deep breath and listen to the chime,” she says, and then taps the chime, creating a long and soothing musical note. “Now, do this for several rounds.”

The sense of peace and quiet that these sessions can provide can “make it easier to face these stressful events so that people don’t drown in these thoughts,” Jackson explains.