How Turning to Art Helps During Health Struggles
- Christian Nolen recently underwent an awake brain surgery to remove a tumor last month and played guitar in the midst of it. Now, he’s recounting the procedure as “out of this world” as playing music means everything to him.
- “Glioma is a common type of tumor originating in the brain. About 33 percent of all brain tumors are gliomas, which originate in the glial cells that surround and support neurons in the brain, including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells,” Johns Hopkins Medicine explains. “Gliomas are called intra-axial brain tumors because they grow within the substance of the brain and often mix with normal brain tissue.”
- Creating and listening to music, or engaging in any other form of art or creation, can be a powerful tool when coping with cancer or other health struggles.
- Research has shown that just listening to music can reduce anxiety and produce other positive effects on mental health.
Speaking to 7News about the surgery, which took place at University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in South Florida, Nolen said, “It was just like out of this world, like, to just like wake up and like have people actively working inside of your head. It’s kind of an insane feeling.”
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“These types of tumors, if you don’t have the ability to remove the tumor with the patient awake, actually become much more dangerous,” Dr. Komotar told the news outlet.
“Having the patient awake and playing guitar while we take out the tumor allows us to be as aggressive as possible, yet still maintain his quality of life and his manual dexterity.”
He added, “The surgeon is only one small part of this entire procedure. It’s not possible without amazing neuroanesthesiologists, nurses, techs, residents, fellows, neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists. It’s the entire Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program that I am most amazed about.”
During the two-hour surgery, Nolen was only asleep during the beginning and the end. In the midst of his procedure he played music by the American alternative metal band Deftones.
Dr. Arman Dagal, chief of Neuroanesthesiology and Perioperative Neurosciences at Sylvester, who provided Nolen’s anesthesiology care during the procedure, spoke with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center about the operation, saying it’s just one part of Nolen’s treatment.
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“In a case like this, we establish a relationship with the patient in the preoperative area because we would like for them to follow a set of instructions during the surgery. We explain to them what is critical, what we need them to do at certain stages, and what will take place during the surgery,” Dr. Dagal.
“When we’re ready, in the critical portion of the surgery when we need them to communicate with us, we wake the patient up and take out the breathing tube. They slowly get oriented to where they are.”
Dr. Dagal said they handed Nolen the guitar at that time.
As for the benefits of an awake procedure, Dr. Dagal added, “It’s shown to improve outcomes, in terms of lower complication rates. Also, patients stay in the hospital a shorter period of time, and they require less-invasive postoperative monitoring because when they go to the ICU, they’re fully awake and we can communicate with them.
“These are all benefits from having less anesthetic and being awake. There’s less chance of nausea and vomiting and greater early mobilization.”
Now, as Nolen continues to recover and moves forward with further treatment and therapy, he maintains his active lifestyle and plays guitar as it brings him joy.
“Being able to go to the gym and be active again, which is a big part of my life. It’s been very amazing, like, the recovery,” Nolen concluded to 7News.
Understanding Cancerous Glioma
“Glioma is a common type of tumor originating in the brain. About 33 percent of all brain tumors are gliomas, which originate in the glial cells that surround and support neurons in the brain, including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and ependymal cells,” Johns Hopkins Medicine explains.
“Gliomas are called intra-axial brain tumors because they grow within the substance of the brain and often mix with normal brain tissue.”
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Symptoms that arise from gliomas come from the tumors pressing on the brain or spinal cord. Johns Hopkins lists the most common symptoms as:
- Headaches
- Seizures
- Personality changes
- Weakness in the arms, face or legs
- Numbness
- Problems with speech
Other symptoms may be:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Vision loss
- Dizziness
How Turning to Music Can Help Cancer Patients
Creating and listening to music can be a powerful tool. Most people have felt the positive effects of a musical experience, but fewer people know there is actually science to back it up.
“Just listening to music activates more brain regions simultaneously than any other human activity,” Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, previously told SurvivorNet.
Christian Nolen’s ability to play guitar during an awake craniotomy is truly remarkable and further proves how music can help anyone during adversity.
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A study published last year in the journal Parkinson’s Disease researched the effects music had on the brain. It found music can help reduce anxiety for patients. Dr. Serap Bastepe-Gray, who co-founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine with Dr. Pantelyat, led the study.
“The guitar, which is portable, affordable, and one of the most popular instruments in the U.S., has potential as a motivational therapeutic tool both in the clinical and community settings,” Dr. Bastepe-Gray said.
Music therapy is a resource cancer patients turn to during treatment. Music therapy includes, creating, singing, moving, listening and/or relaxing, to the sounds of your favorite songs according to the National Cancer Institute.
This form of therapy can help relieve depression, stress, anxiety, and pain.
Pancreatic cancer survivor Joel Naftelberg can also attest to the power of music, as he found the support he needed from his music family.
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“The people that were my heroes in entertainment and rock and roll have been my friends and have been some of the most supportive people that I’ve had in my life,” he told SurvivorNet.
Naftelberg describes his cancer as a “monster.” It’s “attacked every facet of [his] life,” but that doesn’t mean he’s let it get the best of him. Music has been his saving grace.
“I have found music and rock and roll to be transformational,” he said. “Doesn’t necessarily solve anything, but it does let us dance on our problems for at least an hour or two. Nothing better on a Friday afternoon than to hang with your friends and listen to beautiful music.”
Focusing on something you love is an important way to build resilience in the face of coping with cancer and chronic disease, psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman previously told SurvivorNet.
She explained what she calls the “three wellsprings of vitality,” which are connecting with others, contributing to the lives of others, and challenging yourself to continue growing.
“Those are the cores of vitality, and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
As for two-time cancer survivor, Bianca Muniz, she also turned to music as an outlet during her experience with cancer. Her cancer journey began at just 11 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Then, at 22 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Bianca says that undergoing numerous different treatments did have an impact on her voice, but she never let that get in the way of her love of performing, and cancer actually served as a muse for creating new music.
“This experience has had two different effects on my creativity and my music, so I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from it,” Bianca told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.
“But also the side effects of treatment, of chemo, and surgery have definitely had a little bit of a negative effect on my voice. Then again, I love performing. I always feel happy after I’ve performed.”
Managing Emotions After a Cancer Diagnosis
Christian Nolen’s openness in describing how he felt during such an overwhelming surgery reminds us of the incredible emotions that can be felt during a cancer journey.
Licensed clinical social worker Sarah Stapleton previously told SurvivorNet that you should be “patient with your emotions” and communicate what you need from those around you as you process the news.
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“The way people respond is very variable,” New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik said in an earlier interview. “Very much consistent with how they respond to stresses and challenges in their life in general.”
Plutchik stresses that your emotions are valid during this journey.
“People have a range of emotions when they’re diagnosed with cancer,” Dr. Plutchik explained. “And they can include fear, anger, and these emotions tend to be fluid They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process. Going through a cancer diagnosis is just the beginning of a complicated, complicated process.”
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Dr. Plutchik also explained that the patient and their family members should accept that they may feel fine one day and then feel a massive wave of stress the next.
It’s also important for those you look to for support whether that’s a therapist, friends and family, or both to understand the fluidity of stress-related emotions.
If a stressful event is affecting how you think and feel, it may be helpful to look for some type of mental health treatment. Help can be received through traditional talk therapy, medication, changing lifestyle habits (like exercise and diet), seeking out a support group, or many other approaches.
And when it comes to anxiety, it’s “the worry about a future event and also the underestimation of our ability to cope,” clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin told SurvivorNet.
A person doesn’t know what will happen in the future (like with their health, family or money), and furthermore, they’re not sure they can handle that unknown.
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According to Dr. Strongin, not only do cancer patients experience anxiety during treatments, but “45% of cancer survivors experience anxiety even after they’ve survived.” This is not surprising, because, as she explains, “their body has gotten used to having a lot of questions about the outcome of their treatments or of their health.”
Dr. Strongin recommends music, movement, and meditation as ways to calm the body. And it’s so important for survivors to know that there are coping mechanisms that can help them as they encounter various triggers through their cancer journey.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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