November 6, 2010

Over the past ten years, reiki has been gradually surfacing as a non-invasive treatment to address side effects resulting from cancer treatment. There is anecdotal evidence that reiki can reduce the feelings of nausea, neuropathy and general sluggishness experienced by cancer patients. According to the American Cancer Society, there is early scientific evidence that reiki may be useful for reducing pain in some patients with advanced cancer.

One of the leaders in cancer treatment, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center offers reiki through its Integrative Medicine Service. Established in 1999, the Integrative Medicine Service complements the mainstream medical care received by patients by addressing the physical and emotional symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment. The services and therapies offered are available to anyone receiving cancer care, whether or not they are patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, as well as their family members.

If you are interested in receiving reiki while undergoing cancer treatment, sessions are available at the Bendheim Integrative Medicine Center located at 1429 First Avenue at 74th Street for a cost of $100 or $110 per hour, depending on the experience of the practitioner. The Integrative Medicine Service does not offer no-touch “energy healing”, as its experts do not agree with that approach. Instead, all reiki services include touch, and similar to how reiki services are referred to at a health spa, reiki is considered “light-touch massage” and is listed as a touch therapy. For more information about reiki sessions and other available therapies, the phone number to call is (646)888-0800.

The Integrative Medicine Service also offers a reiki instructional workshop called Reiki (Light Touch) for Beginners, where anyone can learn Reiki. The cost is $200 and as a prerequisite, the Center requires that all potential students receive a full-body reiki treatment in the three months prior to class with a reiki practitioner who is actively involved in clinical practice. The next scheduled workshop is Friday, January 21, 2011 from 9:30am to 6:30pm. For further workshop information, the contact number is (646)888-0845.

Dave Gorczynski is president of SPARK, a non-profit organization that has provided free energy work sessions and workshops across New York City since 2002. He writes a regular column about energy work and meditation for the Compact News in New York City's Chinatown. E-mail him at dave@sparkenergy.org.