It’s the worst moment of your life: You’ve been diagnosed with cancer.
You’re about to go through harrowing rounds of tests, chemotherapy and surgeries. But what if the power of music could help you power through it?
That’s where oncologist Dr. Steven Eisenberg comes in. Eisenberg, who’s in private practice in California, is using his singer-songwriter prowess to support patients through the healing process by working with them to write songs about their lives.
He started helping others after going through a health scare of his own — stress-related colitis, inflammation of the colon. At the same time, one of his favorite musical artists, Peter Himmelman, had a story writing contest, and asked for submissions from people who had been touched by his music.
Eisenberg won with a story about how Himmelman’s ” Mission of My Soul” reaffirmed his own mission: helping people through medicine. The prize? Himmelman wrote Eisenberg a song capturing his life story and reminding him why he became a doctor.
“The song reminded me who I was at my core, and to honor that highest part of myself,” Eisenberg says. “To take care of myself by focusing on stress reduction and self-expression. Then the colitis symptoms went away and have never come back.”
From there, Eisenberg decided the mission of his medicine was to give back to others what Himmelman gave him. The songs Eisenberg writes with patients aren’t meant to encourage positive thinking per se, but to nudge someone back to the core of who they are and to help them heal by asking things like: What do you love? What makes you cry? What’s your inspiration?
Music has a whole therapeutic component, and is used for patients of all ages and across conditions. Going to concerts and listening to music can reduce stress, relieve pain and — like Eisenberg’s method — offer a chance for self-reflection.
Eisenberg hasn’t measured brain chemicals before and after this process, but says “that would be a very interesting study. I know they’ve done this with laughter and I know some groups have looked at music therapy and decreasing cortisol levels, you know the stress hormones go down and the feel-good hormones go up.”
That said, he has seen patients in all stages of cancer improve. The songs give them permission to smile and lose a little stress — even if it’s just for a moment. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For someone with a curable, early stage cancer, Eisenberg says that person might see less fatigue and depression during initial chemotherapy. In a stage 4 patient, music might help that person better tolerate treatment or alleviate disease symptoms or side effects. It could also make them feel like they’re a part of something greater, giving them a will to keep going.
Moreover, Eisenberg says: If a patient dies, the song will still be there for family and friends as a part of their legacy.
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