When you've been diagnosed with cancer, your oncologist may introduce you to a new vocabulary; words that you’ve heard before but never dreamed would be part of your personal reality—chemotherapy and radiation. While the prospect of these treatments may be daunting at first, you can empower yourself spiritually and enhance your healing with some simple techniques and rituals. Let this meditation help you enter your treatment sessions with a positive attitude and hope for healing.

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The ritual for chemotherapy involves praying over and “charging” the medicines with Divine healing energy. From my own experience, there are some infusion centers and doctor’s offices that will be amenable to allowing you a brief period of time to do this right in the treatment chair. I encountered a situation where the pharmacy would only permit this at the pharmacy window (in the treatment room) because of “liability” concerns. Just ask your nurse or the administrator, and explain that you would like to pray over the medication before receiving the treatment. I can’t see any situation in which this would not be accommodated in some way.

The ritual for radiation is a little simpler, and just requires a few minutes of prayer or meditation during the treatment.

In both cases, the idea is to pray and/or meditate, asking the Divine (in which ever way your faith experiences The Creator) to bless the medicine or radiation, allow it to only destroy the malignant cells and to leave the normal cells and tissues in perfect, healthy condition. You can continue to visualize this process during the entire course of the treatment, as I will demonstrate in the meditation that follows. Always close your prayer or meditation with open-hearted gratitude for the gift of healing and the gift of life. Ask blessings for the scientists who discovered the treatments, the physicians and nurses who treat you and for yourself as part of your healing team. Remember, the key to healing is your positive intention followed by gratitude. May your healing path be blessed.

Prayer and Meditation:

Begin by blessing your Creator and expressing gratitude for all of the gifts in your life. Place your hands on either side of the infusion container and give thanks for the medicine (or radiation) that you are about to receive. Ask the Source of All That Is to bless the drug (or radiation) and to guide it safely to the cancer cells only, stopping their growth and removing them from your body. See the outcome of the treatment as already accomplished with your total and complete healing and repeat this affirmation three times: “I am healed and whole”, finishing with “Glory on the Highest, Amen” or whatever prayer closing your faith prescribes.

As the treatment starts, you may use the following meditation:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths at your own pace and level of comfort. Allow your breath to resume its natural pattern of inhalation leading to exhalation, exhalation to inhalation and begin to relax. As you relax sense, visualize or touch the medication or radiation as golden liquid energy with the same consistency as sweet clover honey. See this wonderful healing energy entering your body at the port or IV (or in the case of radiation, the area where it is aimed) and traveling to the cancer cells, bypassing all of the healthy, normal cells. Sense this heavenly golden energy as being a source of love; a gift that you are receiving and accepting as you empower your own healing. Maintain this visualization for as long as it is comfortable, and when you are ready to return to normal consciousness, repeat your gratitude for the gift of healing and see yourself as healthy and whole. Take a few more deep cleansing breaths at your own pace and level of comfort, and when you are ready, open your eyes. Many blessings on your healing path.