Magic or medicine? That's the question nurse practitioner Kathy Turner at the Stanford University School of Medicine wants to find the answer to and is currently conducting a study of touch therapy. The therapy is described as a noninvasive form of energy-balancing work that aims to promote deep relaxation and is attributed with easing nausea, fatigue, feelings of fear and worry, pain, and lymphedema. According to practitioners of touch therapy, a person's body is surrounded by a field of energy, and unblocking the body's energy flow can aid in healing and maintaining health. For many in the Western medical community, it is pure hooey. But the centuries old philosophy and practice involving a body's energy fields is deeply rooted in Eastern medicine.

Dr. David Spiegel, professor of psychiatry and behavioral science and an expert in complementary therapies, has his doubts when it comes to energy fields and touch therapy. He doesn't say touch therapy is useless, but believes that if it works it is because of being touched, rather than the manipulation of a person's energy fields. There is research that supports touch having real physical benefit to health. Years ago, I ran across a report that suggested a simple hug has  profound positive therapeutic value.  And as Dr. Spiegel points out, "There used to be an old phrase in medicine about the laying on of hands. The first thing you did as a doctor was lay your hands on the patient. You tried to connect with patients physically to determine how you could help them. I think that's what's happening here." Turner wants to discover if that is all there is to it -- or if there is more to it. She established Healing Partners that offers free weekly sessions of touch therapy for six months. The program is open to any breast cancer patient at any stage of treatment. For more information, visit Healing Partners at the Stanford University School of Medicine.