May 6, 2019 by Karen Pischke BSN, RN

Celebrating Nurse’s Week and 19 Years in Business

Nurses – Be Sure to Love and Take Care of Your SELF This Nurse’s Week!

Case Managers, Nurses, Nursing Students, CNA’s – For life-work balance and avoiding burnout, the most important lessons I learned have been to make time for vacations and learn self-care tools for daily relaxation and stress management. Self-hypnosis, meditation, mindfulness, reiki, tai-chi, and yoga are all helpful modalities that can be learned and practiced on your own or in a group.

Monthly Community Reiki Shares/Clinics and First Degree Reiki Training (CEU’s for Nurses, Case Managers and Social Workers) – Helpful ways to take care of yourself! When you take care of yourself first, you have more to offer to those you love.

Loving Others Begins With Loving Yourself. Self-Love Begins with Self-Care.

Our Annual ‘Gratitude Coupon.’ SAVE $19.00 on any Gift Certificate or Private Session of Reiki, Hypnosis or Reiki Training. Good Through End of 2019. (One Coupon Per Person.)

NURSES – SAVE an Additional $10.00 for any sessions or classes booked during the month of May.

Contact Us fo Schedule Your Discounted Sessions.

Continue reading →

March 17, 2018 by Karen Pischke BSN, RN

After the Fall: A Lesson in Mindfulness

Promoting Optimal Wellness for Mind, Body and Spirit

Happy St Patrick’s Day! Today has me reminiscing about Nor’Easter Riley- derived from ‘Reilly,’ which comes from the Old Irish name Raghailleach.

(Video by Tucker Destino)

‘Sheltering-in-Place’ Nor’Easter Riley brought hurricane-force winds, astronomical tides, record-breaking waves and flooded roads. With flying debris and falling tree limbs, I chose instead to shelter-in-place and watch the 3-day storm unfold on the news and social media. Over the 3 days I watched as people were evacuated to safety, trees fell onto homes and branches through car windshields. Never did I expect during this Nor’Easter that I would end up injured in my own home!

Accidents Often Occur in the Home Despite my efforts to stay home and safe, while home alone I ended up falling down my basement stairs. Late that night my husband was on his way home with a weekend guest. I was distracted and hurrying down the stairs in stocking feet to get my laundry, while talking on the phone with my 90-year old mother. Slipping on the wooden steps as if on ice, my feet flew up in the air. Landing hard on one step, I bounced onto the next, then slid down 2 more, then ultimately the basement floor. My phone and I flew in opposite directions.

Continue reading →

October 25, 2015 by Karen Pischke BSN, RN

Complementary and Integrative Therapies for Supportive Cancer Care

Promoting Optimal Wellness for Body, Mind and Spirit

Hospitals around the country are offering integrative therapies as part of comprehensive, collaborative cancer treatment. According to the National Center Complementary and Integrative Health Integrative Medicine is a total approach to healthcare combining standard (conventional) medicine with complementary therapies that have been studied and shown to be safe and effective.

Integrative Therapies for Cancer Care

Complementary and Integrative Therapies – (include but are not limited to) – Acupuncture, Expressive Art, Hypnosis, Massage, Mediation, Mindfulness, Music Therapy, Reiki, Tai Chi, Yoga and Qi Gong.

Complementary and Integrative Approaches for Cancer Symptoms and Treatment Side Effects –

“NCCIH-funded research has suggested that:

Cancer patients who receive integrative therapies while in the hospital have less pain and anxiety.
Massage therapy may lead to short-term improvements in pain and mood in patients with advanced cancer.
Yoga may relieve the persistent fatigue that some women experience after breast cancer treatment.”

(Source: https://nccih.nih.gov/health/integrative-health)

A study by Birocco et al. found that Reiki (ray-kee) sessions (one to four half-hour sessions in this study) provided to 118 patients receiving chemotherapy in an outpatient infusion clinic were helpful in improving well-being, relaxation, pain relief, sleep quality and reducing anxiety. Those that received the full 4 sessions had a significant (P <.000001) reduction in anxiety. (Source: The effects of Reiki therapy on pain and anxiety in patients attended a day oncology and infusion services unit. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2012 Jun;29(4):290-4.)

Reiki Sessions Promote a Relaxed State of Mind and Body

Reiki Promotes a Relaxed State of Mind and Body

Self-Hypnotic induction decreased pain and anxiety in women undergoing large core breast biopsy (Source: Adjunctive Self-hypnotic Relaxation for Outpatient Medical Procedures: A Prospective Randomized Trial with Women Undergoing Large Core Breast Biopsy. Lang, E., et al. Pain. 2006 December 15; 126(1-3): 155–164.
Acupuncture has been shown to be an effective and safe adjunct therapy for cancer care for: chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Studies also suggest acupuncture may be helpful in managing cancer-related pain, chemotherapy-related neutropenia, chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, cancer fatigue, and radiation-induced dry mouth (xerostomia.) (Source: The Value of Acupuncture in Cancer Care. weeding, L. et al. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2008 Aug; 22(4) 631-viii. NIHMSID: NIHMS65572

Auricular Acupuncture

Hospitals offering Integrative Therapies – in Boston include – Beth Israel-Deaconness, Boston Medical Center, Dana Farber, Mass General, and Tufts Medical Center. North of Boston – Lahey Healthcare (Beverly, Burlington, Danvers, Peabody, Winchester,) North Shore Medical Center (Lynn, Salem) and Mass General North (Danvers.)

Communicate with your oncology doctors and nurses about your use of integrative therapies for supportive care during treatment. Tell all your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use to ensure coordinated, effective and safe care.

Important to Note: Some integrative therapies, over-the-counter medications, herbs and supplements may not be warranted or even be contraindicated because they may negatively impact your care during treatment for cancer. Check with you doctor, oncologist, and oncology nurse prior to using to assure safe, effective care.

What You Need to Know About Complementary and Integrative Therapies and Cancer Care – the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Therapies conducts and supports research, and provides information about complementary health products and practices. Rigorous studies are conducted to determine the safety and effectiveness of therapies, herbs and supplements. For More Information – https://nccih.nih.gov/health/tips/cancer

6 Things You Need to Know About Complementary Therapies – https://nccih.nih.gov/health/tips/cancer

How to Find a Complementary and Integrative Practitioner –https://nccih.nih.gov/health/howtofind.htm

Continue reading →