About Music Therapy at ICC Cancer challenges the mind and the heart. It demands an extra measure of dedication and integrity from the people engaged in treatment and research. The importance of our comprehensive approach is measured ultimately in providing new and effective options in patient care. One means by which patient care is enhanced is through the Ireland Cancer Center s Music Therapy Program. Since 1985, Deforia Lane, Ph.D., MT-BC, music therapist at ICC, has helped over 20,000 adults and children to learn new ways to deal effectively both physically and emotionally with the cancer diagnosis and the treatment.
Music therapy is both an art and a science.
The importance of music in patient care, however, can t always be defined through science. For many, the power of music therapy is its ability to ease the often difficult aspects of cancer therapy, including the sense of isolation many cancer patients experience while hospitalized. How to request Music Therapy To receive Music Therapy services, patients can refer themselves, but more often referrals are made by physicians, nurses and social workers. The Music therapist has designated days for seeing patients at ICC inpatients unit, at outpatients treatment center, at the children s hospital and at any other units across the hospital. The music therapist goes from room to room with a cart equipped with various musical instruments, song books and some recorded music, and a session can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 60 minutes.