Music lifts our spirits during the best of times, so it’s no surprise that many people turn to music in times of poor health. For Dana Jennings, a Times editor who writes every week about coping with prostate cancer, music is an important part of his treatment.
“While the hormone shots and the radiation sessions are essential, they don’t tell the whole treatment tale,” he writes in his latest piece, “Notes to Soothe the Savage Cells.” “I’m a music-obsessive, and I can’t imagine having prostate cancer without listening to just the right music to complement my moods: joy and sadness, anger and gratitude, fear and doubt.”
Prostate Cancer Journal
One Man’s Story
Dana Jennings blogs about his experience with prostate cancer.
For Dana, listening to heavy metal music helps him manage the anger of cancer. This week, he offers his own personal playlist of “music to have cancer by.” Among his favorites, “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley, “Moanin’ at Midnight” by Howlin’ Wolf and “Hurt” by Johnny Cash.
Whether music has played an important role in your own cancer or other treatment, or if music is essential to your workout, we want to hear from you. Help us create a soundtrack for health, by sharing the most important song from your own personal health playlist. Tell us how the song helps you, and why it should be included on a soundtrack for health.
If we pick your submission, you’ll receive a signed copy of Dana’s latest book, “Sing Me Back Home: Love, Death and Country Music.”
Share your songs and your stories below. We’ll pick our favorites and post the entire playlist with song links.
Healthy living doesn't happen at the doctor's office. The road to better health is paved with the small decisions we make every day. It's about the choices we make when we buy groceries, drive our cars and hang out with our kids. Join columnist Tara Parker-Pope as she sifts through medical research and expert opinions for practical advice to help readers take control of their health and live well every day. You can reach Ms. Parker-Pope at 
The easiest and most pleasurable way to eat well is to cook. Recipes for Health offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. 
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Music is essential in all facets of my life. Whether during a workout, snowboarding, working at my desk, or changing my mental state, music always plays an important role.
About two months ago I launched a website dedicated to improving life for mind and body. As a core part of the site is a playlist prepoluated with music we thought would be helpful for our member. Once logged in, members can add their music to the site, customizing their experience and feeding off of one other in the pursuit of personal motivation and continued improvement.
So far, so good. Of course, music is only one factor, but one that is very important.
For more information on the site and philosophy of daily improvement, visit http://www.LiveDay1.com
Live today as though it is your 1st.
— B McDJeff Buckley,
amazing voice…
sad story.
— rini1Ombra mai fu from Handel’s Serse is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard and provides an incredibly soothing experience on every listen. The surprisingly simple lyrics, in Italian, are about nothing more nor less than the beauty of a particular tree beneath which Xerxes is sitting. I would recommend it to anyone suffering in body or spirit who has a taste for opera.
— J. CorcoranThese songs are not all necessarily musical masterpieces, but I believe they contain almost the exact chords and beats necessary to lift ANYONE’S spirits:
Poprocks & Coke, Green Day
Love Generation, Bob Sinclair
On a High, Duncan Sheik
The Obvious Child, Paul Simon
A lot of Toots & The Maytals’ songs are excellent for putting you in a happy mood as well. And of course most of the Beatles early, more poppy stuff.
I have spent tons of time in my life thinking about this and could name many more anti-depressant songs given time. In the same vein, I’ve always found the songs that help you revel in your melancholy very interesting too- for example Radiohead’s High and Dry. Aided by songs like these, a blue mood can take on an almost transcendental quality…in theory it’s so bizarre, but I’m sure everyone knows what I’m talking about.
— JThese Days by 10,000 Maniacs
These words help me reconcile my son’s diagnosis with a rare genetic disorder that is heartbreaking, and yet there is so much to love and enjoy about him.
These are the days
— Kris CThese are days you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you
Rage Against the Machine: Killing in the Name. Best unprintable chorus ever, perfect for working out and for releasing anger. Great driving rhythm, and righteous anger that builds and maintains intensity.
Star Wars soundtrack, especially the opening theme and the imperial march. Do you have to be a fan to get excited by the opening fanfare? To feel the urgency in the imperial march? I sure hope not.
Metallica: One. Another great song with driving rhythm and righteous anger, able to help push you through a tough workout or a bout of anger.
Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsys: Machine Gun. Common thread here, I suppose. Awesome driving drums to go with Jimi’s incredible guitar. Angry lyrics but not mindlessly so.
Best of luck.
— JesseIf you can take a little country music, “Stand” by the group Rascal Flatts is highly inspirational. It helped my mother through her diagnosis and uterine cancer and right into remission. It is affirming in the best way and makes you proud of yourself– for a total, holistic feel-good.
— SaraAnything by Stevie Nicks, but especially, “Landslide” - You can see my reflection in the Snow Covered Hills….sometimes we forget who we are in the middle of illness, but there’s always a mirror image to remind of us the yesterdays and todays of the diseases.
LP
— Liani ParkerStrong rhythms as well as lyrical tone poems lift and soothe me when I feel blue:
— DeniseAngelique Kidjo’s Wombo Lombo
Van Morrison’s Someone Like You
Lambchop’s Autumn’s Vicar
Louis Armstrong’s La Vie en Rose
I have 2 songs that keep me going when I’m feeling down or unwell.
— Rebecca M.Mango Tree by Angus and Julia Stone. It is a beautiful song that uplifts my spirit and makes me incredibly happy. And, at least for me, when I am happy I get better faster and don’t get sick as often.
Don’t Stop Dancing by Creed. This drives me to keep going when I’m down and inspires me to not give up.
Both are mellow songs but really wonderful.
HI Tara,
Have you heard about Dr. Michael MIller of the University of Maryland and his research on the effect of music on the heart? I love this kind of research. As he explains it, if you like the music, nitric oxide is increases–a good thing!
“Music, like laughter benefits the heart. According to Dr. Michael Miller of the University of Maryland, if you’re listening to a song that makes you feel “joyful or euphoric”, your blood vessels will dilate 26%, improving blood flow–which is an effect similar to that of exercise. Miller says: “The inner lining of the blood vessels–the endothelium–serves as the gatekeeper to vascular health.” Keep them dilated & keep them healthy. Just don’t listen to the same songs all the time, or it won’t work. Mix up your play list–2 week intervals are best. What’s on my play list? Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” & Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” & about a million others. Now I’m alternating joyful music with my NPR fix.”
Here’s the link to my post–with more about Dr. Miller’s research. Heard him on NPR’s Science Friday, as well.
http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2008/12/healthy-librarians-brain-backup.html
— The Healthy LibrarianFROM TPP — Thanks for the links!
My preferred mix to take my mind off of medical treatment issues includes the following tracks:
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Carry On, Almost Cut My Hair
— Health Plan VeteranSteely Dan - Doctor Wu, Your Gold Teeth
Styx - Suite Madame Blue, Miss America
Allman Brothers Band - Whipping Post, Stormy Monday, Stand Back
Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Voodoo Child
Jimi Hendrix - Freedom
Oops, I hit send too soon. Sometimes my links are too long, so if it got off you’ll find the link about Dr. Michael MIller in the December, 9, 2008 post at:
— The Healthy Librarianhttp:www.happyhealthylonglife.com
Mary J Blige’s “No More Pain” is a great song. I put it on my friend’s ipod when she was battling tongue cancer.
— FeliceBeautiful Day by U2
— Darryl Mitteldorf, LCSWIt’s the song my wife and I fell in love, by. It’s her love that wakes me in the morning and nourishes me through the day. Hearing “Beautiful Day” in my ipod jazzes my body and reminds me of the most beautiful reason to stay alive.
“Somethin Real” by Phoebe Snow.
Thirteen years ago, this was the song I shared with the woman who was to become my wife as I struggled in therapy to find the reality in myself, and as I learned to appreciate the real around me.
This song took on new meaning three years ago as my wife and I began our dance with prostate cancer. I have found “something real one time before I die,” and I appreciate more the days.
I am healthy now and hope to continue to be. I want more time with my family and friends. But there is a satisfaction in considering the sum of your life and believing that it has been good. And real.
— Bob Hanlon“Inside Yourself” by Nino Moschella. Actually, many of the songs on his record “The Fix” are really uplifting and positive, not to mention FUNKY.
— MStuffI agree with J (#4) - sometimes surrounding oneself in music that delights in depression has the opposite effect. It makes me feel understood, which makes me feel a lot better.
— StacyDandy Warhols - Everyone is Totally Insane
Susan Enan - Bring on the Wonder
Bob Dylan - Man in the Long Black Coat
and then there’s always Nina Simone’s Sinnerman, which makes me feel amazing no matter the mood.
Thunderclap Newman: “Something in the Air”
One of the all-time-great one-hit wonders from a one-album band fronted by Pete Townshend’s (who produced) onetime chauffeur John “Speedy” Keen (who wrote; Requiescat in pace), this utopian call to arms is my personal Desert-Island anthem, and among the most majestic singles in all of rock history - it’s like watching a brilliant sun rise in grandeur over the horizon just beyond receding storm clouds; I get as misty-eyed and goosefleshed the hundredth time as the first.
Those playing the YouTube and/or snapping up the CD reissue are in for a treat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pGht71KFkY
— Scott LahtiWhether working out, driving or doing some laidback listening and day dreaming, the classic Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” never fails to life my spirits.
— bebopblottoWhen doing Yoga, which has worked for many for centuries, I listen to Western music, particularly the music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. His music brings peace to my mind and the vibrations of instruments playing his music appear to vibrate with my body’s natural rhythms.
Try one piece, “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten,” which should introduce you to the simplicity of his work–I play it in a loop, over and over again– and you will search for others. If this catches your ear and mind, go on to “Fratres,” and from there, try some of his choral music, especially on the CD “Te Deum.”
You will find a new peace.
— KenLove Will Save the Day by Des’ree has helped me to find a little solid ground when I feel the world is throwing me off balance. The refrain is soothing discipline:
You gotta be bad
You gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard
You gotta be tough
You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool
You gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know all I know is love will save the day
I also like Crazy by Seal. Lyrics and melody allow me to feel justified in righteous rebellion against whatever wrongdoing is going on in the world, even as I appear to be just that 40-year old lady on the ellipitical.
— ColleenOr is it called “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree? Sorry for the confusion and double-post.
— ColleenI am 24, and three years ago I developed symptoms of a disease the doctors eventually decided was rheumatoid arthritis. Without doctors flexible enough to change my medication regimen, the support of my husband and, yes, music, I would not have made it through the years of pain, worry and stress that plague me even now. I’m told they’ll continue to plague me for the rest of my life, unless, of course, they finally find A Cure.
Mae’s “Anything” has always been a comfort song for me, much the way grilled cheese and tomato soup is my ultimate comfort meal.
Jump Little Children’s “Cathedrals” has been my go-to song when I’m sad and want to keep feeling that way, when I want to indulge in an overwhelming feeling of self-pity.
Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back” is what I listen to when I need a smile, when I want to turn my stereo up to 11 and sing until my voice gets hoarse.
Traveling Wilbury’s “Heading For The Light” is absolutely perfect for when I’m feeling rueful, when I know I’m not doing well, but I decide to put on a happy face anyway.
— Vanessa ShortleyOrdinary Day by Great Big Sea
The uplifting energy in this song and simple but inspirational lyrics has gotten me through several difficult periods in my life–a divorce, taking care of my dad who eventually died of lung cancer and caring for my mom who continues to struggle with Alzheimer’s. The music is just so happy. I honestly feel a chemical reaction when I listen to it and it makes me feel like anything is possible. When I remarried, my husband and I used it as our entrance music for our reception. I pasted the lyrics below but you really need to hear the music.
————–
I’ve got a smile on my face, I’ve got four walls around me
I got the sun in the sky, the water surrounds me, oh-oh
I’ll win now but sometimes I’ll lose
I’ve been battered, but I’ll never bruise, it’s not so bad
[Chorus]
And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day
and it’s all your state of mind
At the end of the day, you’ve just got to say,
it’s all right.
Janie sings on the corner, what keeps her from dying
Let them say what they want, she won’t stop trying
She might stumble, if they push her ’round
She might fall, but she’ll never lie down
It’s Not So Bad
In this beautiful life, there’s always some sorrow
— Christine SheilIt’s a double edged knife, but there’s always tomorrow
It’s up to you now if you sink or swim,
Just keep the faith and your ship will come in.
It’s Not So Bad