The Healer in the Lab: Studying Energy Healing and Cancer at MD Anderson
Phenomena Podcast: The Science & Stories of Energy HealingShow Notes
In Episode 1, we explore the work at MD Anderson Cancer Center—one of the largest and most respected cancer research institutions in the world—where something remarkable is happening in the laboratory.
Scientists are bringing energy healers into controlled experiments to measure what happens to pancreatic cancer cells when a biofield therapist (another term for energy healer) goes to work. What they’re finding is measurable, repeatable, and difficult to explain: biofield therapy slows the ability of cancer to spread. Not in one study. In multiple, with multiple healers, multiple cell lines, and rigorous controls.
More from Phenomena Podcast: The Science & Stories of Energy Healing
What role could energy healing play in cancer care? Oncologist Dr. Santosh Rao shares his firsthand experiences with energy healing and what they’ve taught him about its potential role in cancer care. From surprising patient experiences to the science still waiting to be uncovered, Dr. Rao explores what it could take to bring biofield therapies further into mainstream medicine.
What is the “energy” in energy healing? Every healer in this series uses the word. Every patient reaches for it. Ancient traditions built entire systems around it. But what is it — biologically, physically, measurably — and how does it move through the body to heal?
What actually happens between a healer and the person they're healing?
What happens when traditional medicine leaves veterans behind? In this episode of Phenomena, host Ivy Ross dives into the intersection of PTSD, military research, and energy healing. We share the moving story of Ron, a 79-year-old Vietnam veteran who spent seven years battling debilitating trauma following ICU delirium—until a single session with intuitive healer Maggie McIlvaine changed everything.
What if healing isn't something that happens to you — but something you're always doing for yourself?