The power of touch: external applications from whole medical systems in the care of cancer patients (literature review)

Purpose In the context of whole medical systems (WMSs), external applications are manual treatments that stem from complementary medicine and are performed by practitioners, nurses and caregivers through the application of interpersonal touch. These applications work via physiological, psychological and social processes and are intended for holistic healing. In integrative oncology, these applications are used to improve patients’ wellbeing. The purpose of the review is to collect and compare research results concerning external applications from WMSs applied to patients with cancer.