Last Updated on February 3, 2026 by MASSAGE Magazine
Radiation therapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment, yet it often brings cumulative physical and emotional challenges. Fatigue, pain, and reduced physical functioning can significantly affect quality of life, even when treatment is medically successful. As a result, researchers have increasingly explored supportive, noninvasive therapies that may help patients tolerate radiation more comfortably without interfering with clinical outcomes.
A randomized controlled trial published in MASSAGE Magazine examined whether Healing Touch—a structured, noninvasive energy-based therapy—could improve health-related quality of life for women undergoing radiation treatment for gynecological or breast cancer. The findings suggest that Healing Touch may reduce pain, improve vitality, and support physical functioning when used alongside standard medical care.
A Healing Touch Study
The study, titled “Healing Touch and Quality of Life in Women Receiving Radiation Treatment for Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” was conducted by researchers from Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the School of Social Service at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.
The primary objective was to determine whether Healing Touch could positively influence quality-of-life outcomes in women receiving radiation therapy, compared to a carefully designed mock-treatment control.
Who Participated in the Study?
The study involved 62 women who were undergoing radiation therapy for newly diagnosed gynecological or breast cancer. Participants represented patients at an early stage of treatment, a period often marked by increasing physical fatigue and emotional stress as radiation schedules progress.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Healing Touch or mock treatment. All participants continued to receive standard medical care throughout the study.
Study Design and Blinding Procedures
To reduce bias, the study used a randomized, blinded design. Participants were not informed whether they were receiving Healing Touch or mock treatment.
During each session, participants lay fully clothed on a massage table. A three-by-three-foot opaque screen was placed between the participant’s head and body, preventing them from seeing who was delivering the session or observing their actions.
This design helped ensure that observed differences could not be attributed to visual cues, practitioner identity, or participant expectations.
Treatment Schedule and Timing
Each participant received six 30-minute sessions.
All sessions were scheduled immediately after radiation treatment, integrating the intervention directly into the clinical care routine. The first session occurred no later than one-third of the way through the participant’s radiation schedule. The next four sessions took place weekly, and the final session occurred four weeks later.
This timing allowed researchers to observe both immediate and cumulative effects over the course of radiation therapy.
What Is Healing Touch?
Healing Touch is a standardized, energy-based therapy that involves intentional, noninvasive interaction with the patient’s energy field. Practitioners use focused awareness and hand movements near or lightly on the body to support balance and relaxation.
Each Healing Touch session in the study followed four structured phases:
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Healer preparation, such as centering and focused attention
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Pretreatment energetic assessment
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Healing Touch intervention
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Post-treatment energetic assessment
This consistency ensured uniform delivery across sessions and participants.
The Mock Treatment Control
The mock treatment was designed to closely mirror the structure of Healing Touch sessions without delivering the intervention itself.
Mock sessions were provided by laypeople with no training or knowledge of Healing Touch. These individuals were instructed to walk around the table, stand at the foot of it, keep their hands by their sides, and avoid directing thoughts toward the participant. Instead, they were asked to focus on simple math problems.
This approach controlled for time, presence, and environmental factors while isolating the effects of Healing Touch itself.
How Quality of Life Was Measured
The study’s primary outcome measure was health-related quality of life, assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire developed by the Medical Outcomes Study at the RAND Corporation.
The SF-36 evaluates nine domains of health-related functioning, including bodily pain, general mental health, vitality, physical functioning, and limitations in social activities due to physical or emotional problems. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better functioning.
Participants completed the assessment before the intervention period and again after completing the study.
Baseline and Post-Intervention Results
At baseline, the overall average SF-36 score across all participants was 53.
After the intervention period, the Healing Touch group showed a marked improvement, with an overall average score of 63.3. In contrast, the mock-treatment group showed a much smaller change, with an overall average score of 54.3.
Improvements Across All Quality-of-Life Domains
Participants who received Healing Touch scored higher than the mock-treatment group in all nine domains of the SF-36 assessment.
Statistically significant improvements were observed in three key areas:
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Bodily pain
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Vitality
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Physical functioning
These areas are particularly relevant for patients undergoing radiation therapy, as pain, fatigue, and physical limitations often intensify as treatment progresses.
Interpretation of the Findings
The study’s authors concluded that Healing Touch produced meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life compared to mock treatment.
“Subjects who received Healing Touch demonstrated better health-related quality of life following radiation treatment than their counterparts who received mock treatment,” the authors stated.
The improvements in vitality, pain, and physical functioning suggest that Healing Touch may help patients better tolerate radiation therapy by reducing symptom burden rather than altering the medical course of treatment.
Why These Findings Matter in Radiation Care
Radiation therapy can be physically draining even when side effects are considered clinically manageable. Persistent fatigue, discomfort, and reduced physical capacity can limit daily functioning and affect emotional well-being.
Supportive therapies that safely reduce these symptoms can improve a patient’s ability to complete treatment, engage in daily life, and maintain a sense of control during care.
This study demonstrates that Healing Touch may offer such support without interfering with standard medical protocols.
Implications for Integrative Oncology
The findings support the inclusion of Healing Touch as a complementary therapy within integrative oncology programs. While not a replacement for medical treatment, Healing Touch may enhance patient comfort and quality of life during radiation therapy.
The careful use of blinding and mock treatment strengthens confidence that observed effects were not simply due to attention or expectation.
Healing Touch as a Complement to Radiation Therapy
The randomized controlled trial “Healing Touch and Quality of Life in Women Receiving Radiation Treatment for Cancer” provides evidence that Healing Touch may reduce pain, increase vitality, and improve physical functioning in women undergoing radiation therapy for gynecological or breast cancer.
By improving health-related quality of life across multiple domains, Healing Touch appears to offer meaningful supportive care during a demanding phase of cancer treatment. These findings highlight the potential value of structured, noninvasive touch-based therapies in enhancing patient experience without compromising medical outcomes.
Source: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, and the School of Social Service, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. Authors: Cynthia A. Loveland Cook, Ph.D., R.N.; Joanne F. Guerrerio, R.N.; and Victoria E. Slater, Ph.D., R.N. Originally published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2004, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 34-40.