Managing pain
Alongside prescribed medicines, gentle therapies — massage, acupuncture, heat, relaxation, mindfulness — can help some people feel more comfortable. Always tell your care team about new or worsening pain.
Knowledge base
For patients and families. Nothing here replaces advice from your doctor or care team — when in doubt, ask them.
These guides are for general understanding. Always discuss your own care with your medical team.
Alongside prescribed medicines, gentle therapies — massage, acupuncture, heat, relaxation, mindfulness — can help some people feel more comfortable. Always tell your care team about new or worsening pain.
Breathing practices, meditation, gentle movement, Reiki, and sound therapy can bring moments of calm. If anxiety feels overwhelming or constant, tell your care team — support exists.
A calmer evening routine, gentle relaxation, and aromatherapy may help. Mention ongoing sleep problems — a treatable cause may be behind them.
Acupuncture, certain scents, and relaxation may ease nausea for some people. Tell your care team about persistent nausea or weight loss — these can often be treated directly.
Gentle movement, balancing rest with small activities, and managing sleep may help. Report sudden or severe fatigue to your care team.
Each therapy has its own page: how it works, who benefits most, when to avoid it, what a session is like, how to judge whether it is helping, and how many sessions to expect.
Adapted, gentle touch for pain, tension and anxiety — with clear rules about pressure, blood counts and where hands must not go.
Fine needles at specific points — the complementary therapy with the strongest evidence for nausea and several kinds of pain, and the one with the most real safety rules.
Gentle radiant warmth for stiffness and aching — the therapy on this site with the thinnest evidence and the widest list of people who should not have it.
Trained attention for a mind that will not stop — strong evidence for anxiety and sleep, and one of the few therapies you keep for free.
Music reaches people that words no longer can — the therapy of choice in dementia, delirium, and the last days of life.
Singing bowls, gongs and sustained tone. A reliably calming hour that asks nothing of you — and a thinner evidence base than music therapy, which we would rather say than hide.
A way to put down what cannot be said — guided by a trained therapist, not a craft activity.
Diet, lifestyle and selected herbs — the therapy with the most to offer your day-to-day symptoms, and the only one that can genuinely interfere with your medicines.
Diluted plant oils used for scent and comfort — fast-acting, cheap, and far less harmless than its reputation suggests.
Used well, most are gentle and low-risk. The key is coordination: we discuss every therapy with you and your care team so it fits your medical treatment. They support comfort — they don't replace your medicines.
This is the biggest safety area. Some herbs change how your medicines work or raise bleeding risk. Never start a herb or supplement without telling your care team. Every herbal plan is checked against our drug–herb interaction review.
Pause and tell us if you notice new or worse pain, bleeding or unusual bruising, fever, dizziness or fainting, a skin reaction, breathlessness, or anything that just feels wrong.
No. Everything here works alongside your medical care.
Usually no. Most therapies are done fully clothed; for massage you uncover only what's comfortable.
Often yes — tell us; many sessions welcome a loved one.
Sessions adapt to your energy, can be shortened, done in bed, or rescheduled.
Evidence varies by therapy. We're honest about what's well-supported and what's mainly for comfort.
Complementary therapy — supportive therapies used alongside medical care.
Palliative care — care focused on comfort and quality of life in serious illness.
Integrative care — combining medical treatment with evidence-informed complementary therapies.
Contraindication — a reason a particular therapy isn't safe for you right now.