-IBIS-1.5.0-
tx
reproductive system
testicular cancer
psychospiritual approaches

metaphors and correlations

see also:
cancer patients: personality characteristics
cancer correlations: psychoneuroimmunology

• Testicular cancer: fear and insecurity about ability to care for himself, earn a living, develop own skills, and interact with others as an equal. (Shealy, p. 181)
• A study of 51 men for psychosocial risk factors in germ cell neoplasms of the testis compared to 51 men with acute leukemia indicates: delayed puberty, diminished social and sexual interests, and significant psychiatric disturbance in adolescence (dependency, depression, anxiety, poor success in school) are psychosexual risk factors; which along with cryptorchidism, suggest the presence of a developmental abnormality in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis which is associated with testicular cancer. (Locke, 1983, p. 124)
• Loss of sexual function post-surgery is more likely to be related to the patient feeling unattractive, to lack of information, or to lack of support in dealing with postoperative psychological reactions than surgical loss of sexually responsive tissue. Many sexual problems will be solved by just the chance to discuss them; patients need to hear that their sexual concerns are completely normal. (Locke, 1986, p. 259)
• Comprehensive cancer management should include members of the medical discipline who provide holistic and humanistic treatment. One team member should be both a qualified sex therapist and psychotherapist. This individual should be introduced to patients at the onset of treatment, be involved in a preoperative assessment, during hospital stay, and during the postoperative period. (Locke, 1986, p. 260)
• Testicular cancer patients are at risk for sexual and marital problems because their cancer and its treatment reduce their fertility and disrupt intimate relationships at a crucial life stage (ages 15-34 yrs.). Marital counseling may be considered, in addition to individual work. (Locke, 1986, p. 260)

Chinese psychophysiology:
Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development, and aging; houses the Zhi (Will); expresses ambition and focus; provides the "Fire of Life" through its Yang functions; provides the nourishing and stabilizing qualities of Yin and Water that balance the Yang and the Fiery qualities, especially of the Heart; controls the bones, particularly the lumbar spine and knees; produces the Marrow which generates the spinal cord, "fills up" the brain, and possibly manifests through the immune system; manifests through the reproductive function, particularly the internal aspects of the reproductive organs, and governs the process of passing on life to offspring; and displays the effects of sexual dissipation (especially excessive ejaculation), overwork, aging, chronic debilitation or degenerative processes, and extreme stress.
»
Healthy expressions are gentleness, groundedness, and endurance.
» Kidney Xu (Deficiency) signs include indecisiveness; confused speech; dreams of trees submerged under water; abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); fearfulness; apathy; chronic fatigue; discouragement; scatteredness; lack of will; negativity; impatience; difficult inhalation; low sex drive; lumbago; sciatica; and musculoskeletal irritation and inflammation, especially when worse from touch.
» Intense or prolonged fear depletes the Kidney. Often chronic anxiety may induce Xu (Deficiency) and then Fire within the Kidney. (Maciocia, p. 250) Overwork, sexual dissipation, parenting, simple aging, and a sedentary or excessively indulgent lifestyle all contribute significantly to Kidney Xu (Deficiency).
» Kidney Shi (Excess) signs include over-decisiveness; dreams of difficulty undoing one's belt; and hot, heavy painful legs. (Seem, p. 28)

Liver ~ Gan is the home of the Hun (Ethereal Soul); it relates to decisiveness, control, and the principle of emergence; maintains smooth flow of Qi and Xue (Blood); has an intimate relationship with the external genitalia and Lower Warmer; and reflects emotional harmony and movement.
» Healthy expressions are kindness, spontaneity, and ease of movement.
» Tumors and other masses are considered a form of Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) and thus ultimately are derived from Qi Stagnation. Liver Qi Stagnation reflects and accentuates emotional constraint as the Liver's function of facilitating smooth flow in the body is constricted. Stagnation is associated with frustration, irritability, tension, and feeling stuck. With time this pattern tends to produce a gloomy emotional state of constant resentment, repressed anger or depression, along with tightness in the chest, frequent sighing, abdominal tension or distension, and/or a feeling of a lump in the throat with difficulty in swallowing. (Maciocia, p. 216) Xue Yu (Blood Stasis) often begins with Qi Stagnation.


therapies

imagery:
• beaver dammed (Chavez)
related materia medica listings: imagery for immune enhancement

process paradigm:
• What is the symptom preventing me from doing? What is the symptom making me do? (see process interview: immune system, process interview: male reproductive system)

related materia medica listings:
the shadow and physical symptoms
converting a symptom to a signal
cancer patients: personality characteristics
cancer correlations: psychoneuroimmunology
cancer treatments: immune enhancement
(includes behavioral, theotherapy, meditation, hypnotherapy)
imagery: precautions
imagery: principles: receptive or programmed?
imagery: techniques
affirmations: guidelines and precautions
theotherapy
hypnotherapy
process paradigm


footnotes

Reprinted from The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, Giovanni, 1989, by permission of the publisher Churchill Livingstone, a division of Elsevier Limited.