How music therapy can help people with cancer

How music therapy can help people with cancer
American Cancer Society; 8/22/25
When life gets hard, music can be a balm. Maybe listening to a playlist or making your own music lifts you up. For people facing cancer, music therapy offers a way to ease stress and find connection. What is music therapy? Music therapy is a type of mind-body therapy that uses music to promote healing. “For many people with cancer, it can offer a nonverbal, emotionally resonant way to cope with challenges,” said Cristiane Decat Bergerot, PhD, an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) expert and head of the Department of Psycho-Oncology at Grupo Oncoclínicas in Brazil. Music therapists use different techniques to help patients process their emotions. One goal of music therapy can be to help manage side effects from illness. For example, many people experience pain from cancer or cancer treatment. Medications can help with physical pain, but emotional pain can be tricky to treat.