Music therapy taps into long-term memory, which remains intact longer than short-term memory in dementia patients.

"One of our patients struggles to recall much from his past. He has Dementia. However, whenever he listens to songs in his mother tongue, it boosts his mood and reconnect with his memories," Neha Sinha, Dementia Specialist, Psychologist, CEO & Co-founder of Epoch Elder Care told me recently.

This made me wonder if music can really help elderly patients with complex neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Dementia and Multiple Sclerosis. Turns out that it can. While it does not specifically treat them, music definitely helps stabilize symptoms, fostering emotional well-being and improving the quality of life for patients.

Music And Memories To Treat Physical Symptoms

Behavioural challenges, such as aggression, anxiety, and social disinhibition, are common in patients with Dementia. Music therapy addresses these issues by creating a calming atmosphere and making them more open to treatment. "Listening to or engaging with music can soothe anxiety, regulate sleep patterns, and encourage them to be more receptive to assistance in performing their activities of daily life (ADL) more comfortably. Moreover, Reminiscence therapy, which helps recall events and discuss past events to improve their well-being, is known to be profoundly effective in treating such conditions.

Music therapy also taps into long-term memory, which remains intact longer than short-term memory in those suffering from Dementia. Familiar tunes or songs from childhood can stimulate certain neural connections, particularly if they are in their mother tongue. This soothes their anxiety, provides comfort and even prompts them to engage in social conversations.

Additionally, music therapy aids motor coordination, which is particularly helpful to those with Parkinson's. Incorporating rhythmic movements like walking or light dancing to music can improve muscle relaxation and enhance motor abilities. While there is no direct evidence linking music therapy to alleviating physical symptoms, its positive impact on mood and cognitive function makes patients more receptive to medical treatment.

Music Therapy Has Shown Significant Benefits

Healing with music is believed to date back to ancient Greece when music was used in an attempt to cure mental disorders. Throughout history, music has been used to boost morale in military troops, help people work faster and more productively, and even ward off evil spirits by chanting.

Music therapy does not involve specialists in most cases. It involves:

• listening to music
• singing along to music
• moving to the beat of the music
• meditating
• playing an instrument

UK-based journalist Emma Barnett said it took 21 years to receive a diagnosis of endometriosis, a chronic condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the womb.

The condition, which causes severe pain and other complications, affects one in 10 women. However, diagnosis remains difficult and is often dismissed as merely “painful periods”.

“It’s a disease that has outwitted doctors and researchers around the world. No one knows what causes it. No one knows how to cure it. At least 1 in 10 women are staggering about with it,” Barnett shared in a post on Instagram.

“Endometriosis may not typically kill women, but it’s a living death for many. It is a silent medical emergency,” she added.

The 41-year-old BBC journalist said: “It’s a scandal it takes nearly 10 years to be diagnosed — in my case 21 years.”

Living With Debilitating Pain

Also read: This Is Endometriosis, A Short Film On Debilitating Health Condition Wins BAFTA Award 2026, Know More

There is currently no cure for endometriosis. Available treatments include hormone therapy, predominantly the contraceptive pill, to manage symptoms, or surgery, including hysterectomy in severe cases.

“I’ve been suffering from the condition — in which tissue similar to the womb lining, that’s meant to leave your body, grows and builds outside the uterus — since my periods started at the age of 10. But it would be more than 20 years until I’d be diagnosed at 31, after two years of trying to get pregnant naturally, which meant more than 20 years of enduring excruciating, bone-grinding pain without ever having a label for it,” she wrote in Women's Health magazine.

She described the pain “as a drilling sensation from my pelvis that travels down my legs — making them feel as though I can’t lift them to go up the stairs. Sometimes, the hurt spreads to my arms or chest, and comes with crippling nausea and loss of appetite. I also run cold; freezing even. It’s like someone turned the heating off in my body”.

A Documentary To Expose A Neglected Disease

Read More: Amy Schumer Opens Up On Side Effects After “Botched” Colonoscopy And Weight Loss Journey

Recognizing that many women experience similar struggles, Barnett made a new documentary film "Emma Barnett: Fighting Endometriosis" in which she speaks with women, including doctors, researchers and even politicians about their experiences with endometriosis, highlighting a neglected disease that has no known cure.

Through the documentary, Barnett hopes to raise awareness of the condition, improve public understanding, and draw attention to the long delays many women face in receiving a diagnosis.

“One of the reasons I have made a film about endometriosis is that I want people to understand it is not just ‘painful periods’. It’s a system-wide inflammatory condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it, causing agonizing pain. I am hoping to boost public understanding of that, and beyond merely being able to pronounce it,” she wrote in The Independent.

“It’s very hard to make something invisible visible, but what I am trying to do with this film is bring the invisible into light and show that this is a silent emergency.”

IVF is often regarded as a medical milestone defined by protocols, cycles, and success rates. Over time, it has also come to be understood in a more holistic way, where clinical care and patient experience carry equal significance.

This is especially relevant today, as many patients begin IVF while managing demanding work environments, prolonged screen exposure, and irregular rest patterns. Given how closely reproductive health is linked to hormonal balance, lifestyle naturally becomes part of the broader care context. Which is why IVF care today is not only about clinical precision and outcomes, but equally about how supported, steady, and manageable the overall patient experience feels.

Here are ways to improve the IVF patient experience:

• Establish clear boundaries between work and rest

• Be mindful of screen exposure, particularly in the evening

Evening screen exposure can interfere with melatonin production, affecting sleep quality. Reducing screen time before bed and allowing a wind-down period helps regulate sleep cycles and supports hormonal stability during treatment.

• Managing Injection Fatigue With Needle-Free Injections

A standard IVF cycle involves a series of hormone injections administered over a defined timeline. Depending on the protocol, this can range from 20 to 40 injections in a single cycle. In India, where an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 IVF cycles are performed annually, this represents a significant physical and emotional load for patients. While these injections are necessary, it can be helpful to explore less invasive options such as needle-free injection systems. These systems use controlled pressure to deliver medication without a needle and may help reduce some of the discomfort associated with repeated injections. During IVF treatments, N-FIS, the needle-free injection device, has, in my observation, helped transform patient experience substantially.

Using the latest technological developments in drug delivery has eased the overall treatment experience completely; it has helped patients stay more comfortable and consistent throughout the IVF journey.

• Prioritize consistent and restorative sleep

Sleep plays a direct role in hormonal regulation and recovery. During IVF, maintaining a regular sleep schedule becomes particularly important.

It is not only about getting enough hours of sleep, but also about maintaining rhythm and quality. A calm pre-sleep routine and a stable sleep environment can help the body respond better to treatment.

• Maintain simple, sustainable daily habits

IVF does not require extreme lifestyle changes. It responds better to consistency than intensity. Light physical activity, such as walking or yoga, can help manage stress and support circulation. A balanced diet and adequate hydration further help the body maintain stability through hormonal changes.

The focus should remain on habits that are realistic to sustain, not idealized routines that are difficult to maintain under stress.

IVF is a medically intensive process, but for patients, it is also a deeply personal one that unfolds alongside everyday responsibilities.

Improving the experience does not always require large interventions. Often, it comes from small, practical adjustments that reduce strain, support routine, and help patients move through the journey with greater steadiness and less fatigue.

The COVID pandemic was a disastrous time for human civilization. The effects of that time are still observable to this day. The lockdown and other aspects of the period affected every stratum of society and life. And one of the most impacted sectors was the health care sector, which was at the forefront of the global crisis. Thus, other routine healthcare, as important as cancer, got neglected and caused pain and despair.

A recent study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, published in The Lancet Oncology, sheds light on the magnitude of the healthcare disruption during the pandemic, as the research finds there were 55,000 cancers that remained undiagnosed due to the spread of COVID. The largest estimation at an international scale observed data from 2.6 million patients and 18 jurisdictions.

The researchers saw that developed first-world countries like Norway and New Zealand suffered due to the crisis, though the health care systems there saw a smaller decline, which was followed by faster recovery. On the other side, even developed and economic powerhouses like the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia got the worst of it, and recovery was also slower.

According to the study, 16 percent of the cancer cases remained undiagnosed in nations like Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK between April and December 2020. Though the biggest dip was seen in prostate cancer diagnoses, which fell by a massive 24 percent, followed by breast cancer and melanoma, both down 18 percent.

Isabelle Soerjomataram, deputy head of the agency’s Cancer Surveillance Branch and the study’s senior author, said, “A more detailed understanding of why some health systems were better able to withstand the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic could provide valuable lessons for future crisis preparedness.”

Also Read: Football Legend Kevin Keegan Reveals Fighting Stage Four Cancer

What Is Prostate Cancer?

The gland in the male reproductive system that makes seminal fluid is the prostate. This is the most common type of slow-growing cancer in men, which sees the abnormal growth of cells in the gland; if detected early, it is very much curable. Some early-stage symptoms of the disease are blood in the urine or semen, trouble urinating, and erectile dysfunction, and if you’re asking yourself, why you?

You could probably blame age, family history or lifestyle choices. While we cannot change the ‘why’, we can master the ‘how’ of finding the right treatment in time. Step 1: Rule out the possibility of cancer with a simple Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test.

Also Read: Space Grown Stem Cells: How Are Expedition 74 Astronauts Helping To Fight Cancer?

What Is Melanoma?

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that develops in melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin, the pigment that gives skin its colour. It can occur anywhere on the skin but often develops on areas exposed to the sun, such as the face, arms, back, and legs. Melanoma can also appear in less-exposed areas, like the soles of the feet, palms, or under the nails, particularly in individuals with darker skin tones. Although rare, melanoma may develop in the eyes, mouth, or internal organs. The primary sign of melanoma is a new or changing mole, freckle, or skin lesion.