Individual therapies
Reiki is a type of energy healing and is a complementary therapy. It is sometimes used as a palliative or supportive therapy for people with cancer.
Summary
The Japanese word Reiki means universal energy.
It aims to relax you, ease stress and tension and help with well being.
There is no scientific evidence that reiki can help prevent, treat or cure cancer.
There is no scientific evidence to show that reiki can prevent, treat or cure cancer, or any other disease. Only a small number of studies have looked at reiki and there were limitations to all the trials. This means they are not conclusive and we need further research.
A very small study in 2021 (42 people) gave reiki to people who were caring for a person with cancer. They had reiki once a week for 6 weeks. The study wanted to find out if reiki could lower stress levels in the carers. The authors concluded that the carers found caregiving less stressful after reiki.
In 2014, a literature review looked at whether reiki could help with pain and anxiety. The authors reviewed information from various studies that had used reiki on people with cancer and people without cancer.
Some of the people had recently had surgery so they wanted to see if reiki could help with pain after surgery. Others were about to have a breast biopsy and were feeling anxious. They found that after reiki, women having a breast biopsy had a reduction in their anxiety. And patients who had recently had surgery reported a decrease in their pain.
There were only a small number of studies (7 studies in total). The authors concluded that reiki may be helpful for pain and anxiety. They suggest we need further studies with larger numbers of people.
Remember that reiki cannot cure your cancer.
It is a complementary therapy that aims to help support you during your cancer treatment and help with your general well being.
These organisations can provide further information about reiki.
This page is due for review. We will update this as soon as possible.
Last reviewed: 15 Jun 2022
Next review due: 15 Jun 2025
Find detailed information and research into some of the many different complementary and alternative therapies used by people with cancer.
A complementary therapy means you can use it alongside your conventional medical treatment. It may help you to feel better and cope better with your cancer and treatment. An alternative therapy is generally used instead of conventional medical treatment.
Some therapies may be harmful or could interact with other treatments you're having. Talk to your doctor before starting any complementary or alternative therapy.
Find organisations, support groups, books, websites and other resources about complementary and alternative therapies.
Treatments can include surgery, radiotherapy and drug treatments (such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy or targeted cancer drugs). Find out about treatments and how to cope with side effects.
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