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Reiki Study Prostate Cancer Cleveland Clinic NIH Cleveland Clinic Awarded $250,000 Federal Grant to Study Potential Benefits of Reiki for Prostate Cancer Patients
The Cleveland Clinic has received a $250,000 grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to conduct a two-year study examining the effects of Reiki on prostate cancer patients. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is part of the National Institutes of Health.
The study is a three-way collaboration involving the Center for Integrative Medicine and the Glickman Urological Institute, both at The Cleveland Clinic, as well as the Ursuline Sophia Center, a holistic health center sponsored by the Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland.
The Project is an extension of pilot studies conducted by the Center for Integrative Medicine and the Sophia Center over a two-year period. The pilot studies were used to identify potential methodological problems in researching Reiki and to begin assessing physiological markers of psychological stress that may be affected by energy healing. Reiki is based on the belief that we all have a life force that is depleted when there is disease or stress. By placing the palms of their hands at a variety of locations on the client, practitioners believe that they can channel life force to replenish that of the client.
"We are interested in finding out if the use of Reiki can slow the progression of prostate cancer and decrease the level of anxiety among prostate cancer patients,: said Eric Klein, M.D., Section Head of Urologic Oncology at The Cleveland Clinic, Professor of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and the study's principal investigator. "This is important because the anxiety that often accompanies a cancer diagnosis can inhibit quality of life and has been implicated in the acceleration of the progression of several cancers."
Dr. Klein and the study's co-principal investigator, Joan E.B. Fox., PhD., Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Clinic, chose prostate cancer for the study because an easily measured blood test, prostate specific antigen (PSA), can be used to monitor tumor progression. Likewise, prostate cancer is associated with high anxiety levels and is the most common cancer among men in the United. States.
"This study is important because so many people are using Reiki Therapy, and we know so little about its effects on physiology," Dr. Fox said. "This is a wonderful opportunity to identify ways that Reiki might benefit patients." The study will enroll 120 men with localized prostate cancer who are scheduled to undergo radical prostatectomy, the complete removal of the prostate. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: a control group of 40 men receiving standard medical care, a group of 40 men receiving sham Reiki treatments in addition to their medical care, and a group of 40 men receiving bonafide Reiki in addition to their medical care.
The 30-minute bonafide and sham Reiki treatments will be provided twice a week for four weeks during the six-to-eight week period after patients are diagnosed with prostate cancer, but before they undergo surgery. Patients will be treated by eight Reiki masters or eight sham healers, depending on their group. Following the Reiki and sham Reiki treatments; disease progression will be assessed by measuring the men's PSA levels. Their state of anxiety will be measured using psychometric questionnaires and levels of physiological markers of stress.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. An estimated 220,900 new cases of prostate cancers were diagnosed in 2003, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease claimed the lives of more that 28,900 men in the United States last year.
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multi-specialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. The Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names The Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. In 2003, The Cleveland Clinic is ranked fifth overall. Approximately 1,200 full-times salaried physicians at The Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2002, there were nearly 2.5 million outpatient visits to The Cleveland Clinic and more than 52,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 90 countries.
The Reiki Times, Volume 8, Issue 4 reprint - Press Release from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation on 8/3/04 submitted to IARP by Sister Ann Winters. Sister Ann Winters, a long-time member of the IARP and a Certified Spiritual Director at the Ursuline Sophia Center in Pepper Pike, Ohio. IARP will keep you posted when the results are available.
