Reiki Therapy Evaluated to Ease Stress During Breast Cancer Surgery

Reiki therapy, an ancient Japanese practice meaning “universal energy,” is being studied for its potential to ease stress and anxiety around breast cancer surgery, explained Dr. Sheldon Marc Feldman, chief of Breast Surgery and Breast Surgical Oncology and director of Breast Cancer Services at Montefiore Einstein.

He shared that his interest in Reiki began early in his career when patients asked to include energy healers as part of their care. Over time, he noticed those who received Reiki before and during surgery often seemed calmer and recovered with less pain.

Feldman and his team are now conducting a randomized, prospective study comparing Reiki to sham Reiki to measure its effects more objectively, including by tracking cortisol levels. He noted that reducing surgical stress is a crucial part of supporting patients through what can be one of the most challenging experiences of their lives.

Transcript

What inspired you and your colleagues to explore this kind of therapy alongside traditional medicine, right?

So, the history of my involvement with Reiki healers actually began with many different kinds of healers. Reiki — “Rei” meaning universal and “Ki” meaning energy—is an ancient Japanese practice that’s over 100 years old. It’s one of many forms of energy healing that have been used through the years.

One of the earliest types of energy healing was something called therapeutic touch, which was actually originated by a nurse many years ago. The concept was that touch itself could have healing potential.

Early in my career, I had experiences with patients who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer and asked for some “healers” or nontraditional healers to be involved in their care. These healers were there to support them through the process. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer—especially if she may lose her breast and undergo a mastectomy—it’s a huge life event. It’s not only about the fear of dying from breast cancer, but also the physical loss, which can be very profound.

Finding ways to help support patients through that traumatic experience became very important to me, and it was actually patients who first approached me with the idea. One patient said, “I have a friend who’s a healer. She does Reiki. I’d like her to be involved in my care. Could she come before surgery and during surgery?”

Initially, I was a little skeptical, simply because it wasn’t really proven. What I would do was consider it, but first interview the person. I wanted to make sure that, especially during surgery, there wouldn’t be any issues—because if someone didn’t interact well in the operating room, that could be dangerous.

I did that with a number of patients, and I was really impressed by their responses. They seemed to recover from surgery with less pain, and mentally they went into surgery in a much calmer state than I expected. Anecdotally, over the years, I’ve offered Reiki around the time of breast cancer surgery to many patients. It’s always been a select group—patients who were motivated or already familiar with energy healing and believed Reiki could help them.

That experience led us to decide we needed to do what we call a pivotal study, which we’re conducting now. It’s a randomized, prospective trial where patients receive either Reiki or sham Reiki. The sham Reiki isn’t real Reiki, since those administering it aren’t Reiki practitioners, but the experience, maneuvers, and protocol are all carefully scripted, so patients don’t know which group they’re in.

We’re evaluating their responses, including their stress levels, by measuring cortisol to provide an objective assessment of Reiki’s effectiveness. I think it’s very powerful. Surgery of any kind is incredibly stressful and anxiety-producing for patients, so whatever we can do to ease that experience is definitely important.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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