For many people receiving cancer treatment at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT), Reiki therapy is offering much needed relief and relaxation. Thanks to charitable funding The Cove Fund of Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity patients at RCHT now have access to a dedicated Reiki therapist, helping them cope with the physical and emotional challenges of cancer.
Annie MacDonald joined RCHT in February 2022 as part of a project to offer Reiki therapy to patients with cancer. Initially, this project was supported by the Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust, though is now funded through The Cove Fund. Annie works primarily at the The Cove Support Centre, but also visits both Lowen Ward and the Headland Unit within Royal Cornwall Hospital, offering Reiki at the bedside and even during chemotherapy sessions.
“Reiki is a complementary therapy based completely on relaxation,” Annie explains. “It helps release tension that’s held in the body — whether that’s physical aches and pains, or the stress and emotion that come with a cancer diagnosis and its treatment.”
Sessions vary from longer, 40-minute appointments in the treatment room to shorter, hands-off sessions on the wards. While the approach may be gentle, the impact can be profound. “Sometimes patients come in really distressed, saying they feel beside themselves,” Annie says. “By the end of a session, they’re calmer, more settled — they often walk out saying, ‘I feel so much better.’”
The therapy is open to anyone affected by cancer, from those newly diagnosed or living with terminal illness, to people in remission. Relatives can also benefit. “I sometimes offer Reiki to partners or family members,” Annie adds. “It gives them space to relax, and in workshops I’ve even taught couples how to give Reiki therapy to each other, which can strengthen their bond through the cancer journey.”
Talking about their experience, one patient explained:
“I was lucky to be offered some Reiki sessions through the Cove, following my cancer diagnosis. The impact on my physical, mental and emotional wellbeing was positive at the end of every session. The practitioner made me feel welcome and at ease enabling me to trust the process and gain more from the sessions.
During the sessions I would firstly discuss how I was feeling emotionally, physically and mentally often having discomfort in my areas of surgery and feeling drained. The trauma of a cancer diagnosis had exhausted my well-being. The practitioner and I talked through what I wanted from the session and then in a professional trustworthy and safe environment, Annie would complete a treatment, where I would lie restfully on a bed and feel very comfortable enabling my body to relax to the point that sometimes I fell asleep. We would then discuss how I felt, which always included ‘relaxed.’ We would talk through Annie‘s thoughts and my possible mental, emotional and physical journeys that could occur.
I would recommend Reiki as a holistic therapy, and in particular, with Annie – her style, as well as her manner, was and is exemplary. Thank you to the Cove for offering me this holistic therapy. I believe my recovery could have been very different without their support.”
The roots of this work trace back to Angie Buxton-King, who founded the Sam Buxton Sunflower Healing Trust in memory of her son Sam, who died from leukaemia. During Sam’s treatment at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Angie discovered Reiki was the only thing that eased his pain and anxiety when he could not be touched. Determined to honour Sam’s memory, she trained as a Reiki therapist herself and began fundraising to bring the therapy into hospitals. The charity went on to support Reiki therapists in 16 NHS hospitals and hospices across the UK, including Cornwall.
Today, Annie’s role continues this legacy. “Referrals come from patients themselves, but also from psychologists, counsellors, physiotherapists and ward staff who see the difference Reiki can make,” Annie explains. “It’s about helping people cope, restoring what they might have lost during treatment. Sometimes that’s a sense of identity, sometimes it’s mobility, sometimes it’s just the ability to sit with themselves calmly. Reiki gives them that chance.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation or fundraise for The Cove Fund of Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity can find out more here The Cove | Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity.