How music is supporting patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment
For patients undergoing radiotherapy at City Hospital, the unsettling hum of the machine can be intimidating and scary. One simple and small addition to the unit is helping ease those nerves. Thanks to your donations, we’ve been able to provide a handful of small, movable speakers for the Radiotherapy department at City Hospital, so that patients can listen to music instead of machinery while undergoing treatment.
Molly Bamber, Lead Paediatric and Teenage and Young Adults Therapeutic Radiographer, has already seen their impact first hand:
“These speakers are new into the department, but we’ve already seen the difference they are making to our paediatric and adult patients who undergo radiotherapy treatment here in Nottingham.
“Before we had these, we had an old CD player along with around 20 albums – not ideal for the range of patients that we see.
“The speakers are helping mask the noise of the machine, and patients can choose what they listen to. Whether that’s Frank Sinatra or Disney, their choices are endless.”
Molly continued: “The speakers are so easy to connect; we get some patients who come in and instantly connect the speakers to their phone. One patient who comes in for treatment is neurodivergent and finds that meditation music helps them keep calm and relaxed, so we do our best to find some relaxing music for them.”
Her colleague Joel Devoto, Therapeutic Radiographer, agrees: “When patients choose their own music, it can start a conversation between us and them, as we may know the artists or song they’ve chosen. It helps humanise us, especially to younger patients who are understandably more nervous as their parents have to wait outside.
“I had a young patient who played a slightly more obscure artist, but I had heard of the musician, so I was able to have a full conversation with them, which made them feel more at ease during and after the treatment.”
Molly added: “Patients sometimes have to wear full face coverings depending on their cancer, which can add an element of claustrophobia to the treatment. Music helps them relax and take their mind off the masks.
“We’ve had patients take the speakers into the family room after treatment so they can take a few minutes afterwards to just sit and zone out from treatment.”
Joel said: “We’re so grateful for the support of the Charity’s donors, it might seem like a small piece of equipment, but it is making a big difference to patients who are undergoing regular and sometimes gruelling treatment.”
A small £35 speaker might not seem life-changing, but for patients who face regular treatment, it helps them bring a sense of calm and control to their lives when everything else can seem daunting and uncertain.