It's in the news again!

To my delight, there was an article in Wednesday's paper about a study in which patients having colonoscopies brought their iPods into surgery and the earbuds were taped in place. The results were that 44 men and 38 women used less anesthesia than patients not having the music. They did report the same amount of discomfort but if anesthesia was less and discomfort was the same, it's a plus! Talk to you doctor about it today! Or order my CD, tapes, or surgery download. Let's get the word out! Alice

Grant proposal for surgery invention...now submitted

Well, I turned in my 30-page grant proposal last Friday and breathed a huuuuge sigh of relief. If I win, I will get $250,000 towards my exciting, ground-breaking, revolutionizing invention to deliver music during surgery. Please keep your fingers crossed for me or better yet, send up a little prayer. I won't know anything for at least a month. If I make the next cut, I will be invited to compete in an "Ugly Baby" contest where I go before the award committee and explain my invention with a prototype that is now being created. I'll keep you posted! Check out my CD for surgery before you need it!

An invention for music in surgery is being created

I don't want to say too much right now, but I have received a provisional patent on an invention for the direct delivery of music to the patient during surgery. Hundreds of people are extremely excited about this right now. Please stay tuned for more information! Thanks, Alice

Using Headphones for Surgery Music

Surgeons and medical staff have been using music in the OR for sometime now, but few people really consider that the patient needs music too. Or that the music that the patient needs is very different from what the surgical staff needs. While the medical staff performs surgery, they often listen to high energy upbeat music, especially for long surgeries. The patient, on the other hand, needs slow, steady, serene music that will keep their bodies relaxed and bio-rhythms stabilized. This is why headphones for the patient should really be standard procedure. I have had back surgery with a Walkman and tapes I put together and I have helped dozens of other people choose music for their surgery. If you're going to have surgery in the near future, please contact me and let me help you choose the perfect music for YOU!

Benefits of Music During Surgery

Despite hundreds of research studies documenting the benefits of music in the OR, most patients are still not offered the chance to use music during their surgery. Why? I believe it is because of the pervasive belief that when one is anesthetized, one cannot hear anything that is going on in the OR. This, despite the fact that many, many, many people have awakened in the recovery area of hospitals reporting exact conversations that they heard while "asleep" under anesthesia. For the next several weeks and months, I will be reporting on all the existing research I can find on music with surgery, leading up to a very exciting announcement at the end of this year! Stay tuned! Alice

Music and Surgery, Pt. 3

Are you dissatisfied with your medical and hospital experiences? If you are, join the community of thousands who feel that going to a hospital just might make them worse!! With each passing day there are frightening stories or patients contracting staph infections, getting the procedure intended for someone else, having equipment left inside of them after surgeon has sewn them up and on and on. It's enough to make you want to get lots more involved with your own health and learn more about how to stay healthy and create new eating and exercising habits! Recently I've written quite a bit about the importance of you, the patient, having your own music during surgery. I continue to get questions, thanks and requests for personal consultations before surgery. It really doesn't matter if you're having out-patient surgery for something like a colonoscopy, a laser treatment or even chemotherapy, or if you're having inpatient major surgery for heart bypass, ruptured disk or hysterectomy.

The facts are clear: patients who are listening to their own favorite, self-selected, slow and steady instrumental music, need less anxiety medication before the procedure, less anesthesia during the procedure, and less pain medication after the procedure. There are hundreds of studies from hospitals and clinics around the world documenting this fact but surprisingly, most hospital operating rooms do not provide music for patient. Many surgeons are now bringing their own favorite music into the OR, but the patient is thought to be "asleep" and unaffected. Not true! Many patients have reported to me that they heard conversations between various staff members, comments from the surgeon and even frightening words such as "doesn't look good," "worse than I thought" or even "oops!" What can you do? If you have some advance notice that you need surgery, get a good Walkman or Discman, choose your favorite music that has a slow, steady tempo and no words or lyrics (a favorite is always the Pachelbel Canon in D) and let your surgeon know that you want to use music during your surgery. Remember, it's not about entertainment, it's about stabilizing body rhythms, keeping the muscles relaxed, and blocking out OR conversations and bleeping machines. The surgeon and anesthesiologist needs to hear these things, but the patient definitely does not! If you want a consultation with me before your procedure, contact me through my website at http://www.healingmusicenterprises.com/ or call me at 502-419-1698. Hope to hear from you soon! Your partner in good health, Dr. Alice Cash Clinical Musicologist Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Surgery with Music, Pt. 2

I've been researching the use of music with surgery for about 15 years now. Not surprisingly, my mother is one of my biggest fans and now know to have music with surgery. This was her fourth surgery with music. As always, we talked to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon in advance to make sure they would allow this and without hesitation they said yes. In case you need a refresher course, the reason we use surgery is because the music synchronizes the heart-beat and breathing and people use up to 50% LESS anesthesia! This is HUGE because anesthesia is one of the things you must recover from after surgery. This has been documented in literally 100's of studies from around the world with all kinds of surgeries. When patients listen to music through headphones, the music enters the brain through the 8th cranial nerve and not only relaxes the patient but also blocks out the conversations that the surgeon is having with assistants that could include comments that the patient really doesn't want to hear! People have reported to me hearing nurses talking about what they wanted for lunch, their boyfriends, etc. While I think this is probably rare, it's better not to hear anything but familiar, soothing instrumental music. Yesterday there was a front-page article in the NY Times about music in the OR. While this article focused more on music for the surgeon and staff, it is still very interesting and can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/arts/music/10doct.html?ex=1150689600&en=d373d592be9146ef&ei=5070&emc=eta1. Enjoy! For more information on music with surgery, visit my website at www.HealingMusicEnterprises.com. You can order my two-tape set there or sign up online for an individual consultation before your surgery or just to talk about how music can improve, invigorate and energize YOUR life! Until next time, keep the music playing!