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Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Cancer Patients APPENDIX E: THE PLACEBO EFFECT In 1955, Dr. Henry Beecher, a Harvard physician, published the first study that reported thirty-three percent of patients were aided by placebos, chemically inactive substances also known as “sugar pills.” The placebo effect can be defined as healing that occurs from a patient’s beliefs or assumptions that a treatment is effective. This treatment can be an ingested medicine or other therapy that is perceived by the patient as having therapeutic value. This phenomenon is an excellent example of how the mind and the power of suggestion can have a major effect on the state of the body. Many of the mind-body therapies reviewed in this manual are beneficial to patients for this very reason. If a patient believes in the therapy and his/her health care practitioner, the placebo will help to lessen pain and promote general well-being thirty to forty percent of the time. The power of the mind and placebos can actually be powerful enough to cause negative side effects, including headaches, nervousness, nausea and constipation. This result is called the nocebo response. However, the effect normally acts in a positive fashion to relieve pain, nausea, headaches, stress, anxiety and other symptoms. Placebos should not be expected to change the underlying disorders causing the symptoms. There is some evidence that suggests the placebo effect leads to the release of endorphins, or natural painkillers, in the brain, which can help alleviate pain and anxiety many patients experience. It is also believed that the doctor-patient relationship has a strong influence on whether or not the placebo effect will occur. Because many patients have a strong faith in and respect for their health care providers, a therapy offered by a trusted source gives them hope and strength for recovery from illness. Physicians who help their patients gain optimism are more likely to generate positive placebo effects in their patients than those who do not inspire and generate hope in their patients. |
