How EFT Can Reduce The Stress Of Skin Cancer Treatment

Skin Cancer Rates Are On The Rise

Skin cancer rates are projected to rise by 9% over the next 15 years in the UK. Thankfully, many of these cancers are preventable and recovery rates are high.

I happen to live in Australia which is known as the skin cancer capital of the world. Recently, I had a skin-check which identified the need for some preventive treatment. As it turned out, tapping really helped me through an experience that was more emotionally impactful than I’d expected.

Several preventive measures exist that involve skin treatments to halt and remove pre-cancerous cells. Even though my treatment was not complicated, it felt quite involved.

Tapping really helped me during four stages:

• initial diagnosis,
• fears before the treatment,
• calming me during the treatment, and
• coping with the recovery.

Skin Check-In

I hadn’t had a full-body specialised skin-check before but I booked in because I’m getting older. I also have a fair complexion with a good number of moles and colorations. Of course, I was hoping that they’d find that everything was OK.

But, after a detailed check, they recommended I have a cream and blue-light treatment to clear away some pre-cancerous cells on my face and scalp. They booked me in for two months’ time and gave me some home-preparation to do. This involved applying specialised creams to my skin in the preceding week.

The cells they were targeting were not dangerous at this stage, but as I got in the car to drive home, I realised I was actually feeling a bit numb.

I was shocked at the thought of needing a procedure. I’ve hardly had any medical interventions in my life.

I Tapped:

Even though I’m shocked that I need this treatment that I wasn’t expecting to need, I love and accept myself anyway …

That tapping brought up some other aspects that were more about how my body felt:

Even though my body feels shocked at being so meticulously checked all over this afternoon and I feel a bit violated …

Even though my body feels shocked that someone’s said there’s something wrong with it, like my skin’s not good enough ...

Even though I feel angry with myself because I should have looked after my skin better and worn a hat more often outside ...

The Impact Of Tapping

Tapping on these aspects calmed me a lot. But as the treatment day approached, I started to feel anxious and surprisingly scared.

The information sheets about what to expect included a long list of possible after-effects such as:

• hot burning skin,
• terrible itching, and
• blistering.

For some, being informed helps you feel better. This wasn't the case for me. And I didn’t feel better when I tried to comfort myself with thinking that the after-effects of the treatment couldn’t be any worse than sunburn at the beach as a child.

Again, I tapped:

Even though I’m really anxious about what it’s going to feel like ...

Even though I’m scared of my skin feeling terrible afterwards ...

Even though I’m scared the treatment won’t work properly for me ...

Going In For Treatment

It took two tapping sessions of about 45mins each to process these fears as well as some other fears that came up. But, on the day, as I walked into the appointment, I felt fine. There was some mild tension that I scaled at about SUD=2.

So I tapped in the waiting room:

Even though I’m a little on edge, maybe it will all turn out better than I expect. I know this nurse is nice and I can relax.

The main treatments required me to lie down and have a cream applied to my face and scalp by a nurse. Then I had to wait for 20-30mins. The next step was to have blue-light beamed on my face and scalp. Even though I felt calm throughout the process, I tapped on the side of my hand anyway. I did this with the intention of enabling the cream and light to work optimally. When I explained to the nurse what I was doing she was interested to learn more about EFT.

The Recovery Process

That night my skin didn’t feel or look that bad. I applied the moisturisers as directed and went to bed. I just tapped a little on:

Even though my skin feels mildly painful …

I figured, "If I can tap, why have any pain I don’t need to have?"

But the next day I started to feel a real tiredness that they said often happens after the procedure. The creams and light are meant to stimulate the immune system to clear out any skin-cancer cells, and I could feel my system going to work. I was surprised to feel so fatigued though.

Again, I tapped:

Even though I feel so fatigued, I give my body permission to relax and heal ...

Even though this treatment feels like a shock to my whole system, I love and accept myself anyway ...

Even though I’m shocked that this feels worse than I expected, I’ll be OK ...

This tapping definitely helped me feel better. I also didn’t get any of the nasty side-effects that they’d listed. Maybe tapping calmed my system so my body didn’t need to react as intensely as other people. In fact, at the check-up the following week, the nurse was surprised that the maximum level of pain I'd experienced post-procedure was 2/10.

The Follow-Up

I’m going back soon for the 6 month follow-up. I’m hoping they’ll give me the all-clear. Whatever happens, I have tapping in my toolbox to come with me.

I hope that if you, or someone you know, are facing this type of treatment, you can use my story to consider how you could benefit from tapping. I was definitely surprised to find that I had emotions about parts of this process that I wouldn’t have thought would have any impact on me.

I’d recommend that you stop and check on how you feel about any parts of any treatment you’ve been through. Are there any unresolved emotions about what’s coming next? Have you assumed that it’s no big deal?

By checking in with yourself, you can release as much distress as possible, and give yourself the best chance of a good recovery.

And, if you’re an EFT practitioner, I hope my story will help you consider what kinds of emotions and aspects have the potential to remain unresolved for clients because they've labelled their experience as a 'minor' health treatment.

Lareen Newman's EFT practice builds on 10 years in the corporate and government sectors, and almost 20 years in Australian universities as a social-health researcher working for women's empowerment. Her past health research includes talking to women about experiences of balancing work and motherhood.
She works online via Zoom and in-person in Adelaide, Australia. For more information about private sessions, packages and programs on Burnout Recovery and Life Change, and women's weekend retreats, you can visit her website www.TappingIntoSerenity.com.