Acupuncture uses needles to stimulate energy flow in particular parts of the body and can be helpful in reducing some symptoms of cancer. Your GP or cancer specialist can refer you to an NHS palliative care clinic, some of which offer acupuncture. You can also contact the British Acupuncture Council for details of registered acupuncturists in your area.

Although homeopathy is not part of conventional medical treatment for cancer, it is often used to try to improve the quality of life for people with cancer, as an addition to medical treatment. Homeopathy cannot cure cancer, but some people feel it helps them to control their symptoms. It is based on the theory that a substance that can cause similar symptoms to those of the illness being treated, can be used in tiny amounts to treat those symptoms.

Homeopathic remedies can be tablets, liquids or creams and contain very diluted forms of the active ingredients. Some GPs are trained in homeopathy. The British Homeopathic Hospital has a special programme for people with cancer, and the British Homeopathic Association can put you in touch with a local homeopath. Homeopathy is also available from some NHS hospitals.

Learning to relax and to let go of your fears and anxieties – even if only for short periods each day – can play a useful part in your overall symptom control.

A technique called progressive muscle relaxation involves getting to know particular groups of muscles in the body and learning to tense and relax them. Once you can relax and contract stomach muscles, neck muscles and others individually or together, you can start using the technique during stressful periods to reduce tension, and control symptoms.

Yoga can also help you learn how to control your muscles and breathing. The British Wheel of Yoga can put you in touch with a local yoga group. Once you have learnt the basic techniques you can use them to help with symptom control during difficult periods.

Relaxation tapes

You may find listening to relaxation tapes helpful. There are several different types of relaxation exercises and ways of presenting them, and people vary in what they find most effective. Some people prefer music, others just a voice. You may have to shop around to find the most suitable tape for you. Tapes can be bought from some bookshops, or various organisations. You may also be able to borrow some relaxation tapes from your local library.

Hypnotherapy may be useful in helping to relieve cancer symptoms, but is rarely effective on its own.

However, self-hypnosis can be a valuable part of the whole relaxation process, by reducing the effect of emotional upset on physical symptoms. Your GP may have a list of local therapists who offer hypnotherapy, or you can contact the National Register of Hypnotherapists and Psychotherapists.

There are many different types of meditation, but they all aim to calm your mind and develop a sense of peace. You can try meditation by sitting quietly, and being aware of your breathing, without trying to control it. Whenever you become aware that thoughts have come up in your mind, just return to the awareness of your breathing and your immediate environment. Instead of paying attention to your breathing you can put an object in front of you and pay attention to that.

This can be very difficult at first and you may find that you feel that you are getting worse as you become aware of how busy your mind is. However, it will become easier as you practice. It may help you to be able to let go of distressing or depressed thoughts for a period of time once or twice each day. It is helpful to practice meditation regularly and have guidance from an experienced meditator. You can get details of local organisations that teach meditation from your local phone book.

People who have particular psychiatric conditions such as psychosis may find that some types of meditation make their illness worse. It is best to talk to a meditation instructor from an established meditation organisation (and your psychological support team, if necessary) before trying meditation.

Visualisation (creating mental images) is a technique that helps you to bring happy, relaxed pictures into your mind and use them to overcome some of the discomfort caused by symptoms. By 'seeing' and 'hearing' images and sounds that bring you pleasure you may, to some extent, shut out symptoms of pain and discomfort.

Our section on cancer and complementary therapies gives more detail about all these therapies.