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Music can help improve your experience with osteosarcoma and strengthen your life in many ways. Although music therapy is usually provided in a health care setting, this allows you to experience a typical music therapy exercise using the Internet.

When involved in your treatment team, a music therapist measures your strengths and needs and provides suggestions for therapy which may involve creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music.

Research shows that carefully planned musical exercises can help you:

• Communicate and express your feelings
• Improve your physical rehabilitation or recovery
• Manage your pain and discomfort
• Increase your motivation level
• Reduce anxiety and stress
• Provide emotional support for you and your family

Listen to your ideas and feelings, and decide how you want to benefit from this exercise. You may want to write in your journal, paint, or talk to somebody you trust between sessions.

Individuals of all ages and background can benefit from music therapy. You do not need to have any prior musical training to benefit from music therapy.

Music Therapy may not be right for you if during or following a session you:

• Are overwhelmed with your feelings or thoughts, you get in a bad mood, or have bad dreams or visions in your head.
• Your physical, emotional, or mental reaction is negative, or uncomfortable to you.

Experience Music as Therapy

Below are step-by-step instructions and an audio file with music and the voice of a music therapist who will lead you through a sample music therapy exercise.

Instructions

Read carefully the steps described below. You may need to perform the exercise more than once to achieve your desired results. Don't be discouraged. Be patient, wait for some time and try again.

1. Prepare yourself for the exercise. Choose a relaxation method that works for you. This may vary from session to session. Try our suggestions below, and create some of your own.
1. Find a comfortable environment. You first need to find a comfortable place where you know you will be undisturbed and have quiet for the length of the session (about 15 minutes). Also wear comfortable clothing and adjust the light and temperature of the room according to your preference. Make sure you can reach your computer because you will need to use it to play the audio file.
2. Relax. Now pay attention to every body part from head to toe. That may or may not mean that you need to take off your prosthesis, depending on your situation and comfort level. Even if you miss a limb, your brain is still able to give the signal to relax a missing limb. So during the exercise when you are asked to relax a part of your body you don't have anymore, you still need to address it. You can close your eyes if you want to at anytime, or keep them open. If you keep them open, focus on a specific point such as a picture or wall.
3. Pay attention to your breathing. This will lead you to a balanced level of oxygen and allow you to relax. During the exercise your breathing will change. It can become slower, faster, deeper, flatter, lighter, and maybe even unrecognizable. That is normal because your body is reacting and balancing itself. Following the air flowing in and out (inhaling and exhaling) is a way to move your concentration from the outside world to the inside. More information on how to do this will follow in audio file provided for the exercise.
2. Play the audio file. To play this file, RealPlayer is required.

If I like the music exercise on this web site, how do I find more information or a music therapist in my community?

Contact your local cancer center, medical hospital, rehabilitation facility, outpatient clinic or school to ask about their availability in your community.

For more information about music therapy, including a list of board-certified music therapists, visit the American Music Therapy Association, musictherapy.org .

The development of "Music as Therapy" was assisted by board-certified music therapist Eva Rudisile.