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Cancer patients could benefit from the complementary therapy Reiki.

That’s the finding of a big research project by scientists and others at the University of Huddersfield who now hope to extend their studies.

The research claims that Reiki can improve the quality of life for cancer patients by lowering their levels of anxiety, depression and fatigue. The findings are to be presented at a major conference next month and larger-scale research could follow.

The project was conducted by Dr Serena McCluskey, who is a Senior Research Fellow in the University’s Centre for Applied Psychological and Health Research and Prof Marilynne Kirshbaum. They were joined by Dr Maxine Stead, who has an academic background in psychosocial oncology research and is now the owner of a holistic health spa in Huddersfield.

She is a practitioner of Reiki, a Japanese technique in which the hands of a healer are said to release positive energy. There is scientific controversy over Reiki, but the University of Huddersfield researchers were purely concerned with its potential to bring about improvements in wellbeing.

They have concluded that “Reiki could be a beneficial tool in the self-management of quality of life issues for women with cancer”. The team now believes that there is a case for Reiki being added to the roster of complementary therapies that are available via the NHS.

“Acupuncture and other techniques that were regarded as quite unorthodox are prescribed on the NHS, so we just thought that more research on Reiki was needed,” said Dr McCluskey.

“We are not suggesting that we can establish scientific effectiveness, but we are adding to the body of evidence for the quality of life benefits it has for women with cancer”.

Over the course of a year, the researchers conducted detailed interviews with ten women who had received Reiki therapy at two hospices in the local area. They discovered benefits such as a release of emotional strain, “a clearing of the mind from cancer” and feelings of inner peace and relaxation.

“The benefits could last for as long as a fortnight, said Dr Stead. “It really gave them an escape from what they were going through. They were often undergoing a lot of treatment, and the Reiki was a respite and seemed to help them cope. It got them out of their blackness.”

The findings of the pilot project are to be presented in a paper at the 2015 conference of the British Psychosocial Oncology Society, taking place in Leeds. The researchers plan to publish their findings and also hope to expand their work.