Turning To Music Amid Health Struggles
- Grammy-winning singer Melissa Etheridge, 62, awed the crowd during the 2024 CMT Music Awards over the weekend, singing her 1993 hit “Come To My Window.” Her performance comes amid her world tour and prior to the release of her Paramount+ docuseries, “Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken.”
- Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast in 2004. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to treat the cancer.
- Music therapy is a resource cancer may patients turn to during treatment. Music therapy includes “creating, singing, moving, listening and/or relaxing” to the sounds of your favorite songs according to the National Cancer Institute. This form of therapy can help relieve depression, stress, anxiety, and pain.
- Dr. Dana Chase, gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Health, says emotional health and good quality of life are associated with better patient survival and outcomes. She encourages cancer patients to continue prioritizing what brings them joy.
The loving mom, who became a major advocate for mental health and addiction awareness following the the tragic loss of her son who died from opioid addiction, ultimately sparked a round of applause from the audience at the 23rd edition of the awards ceremony, which took place at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday.
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The brief, yet memorable, performance comes amid Etheridge’s “I’m Not Broken” tour across the country and other areas of the world, including Australia next month. And it’s wonderful to see the singer, who previously won a Grammy award for “Best Female Rock Vocal Performance” in 1994, thriving and continuing to work after battling cancer—something many people battling disease can look up to for hope.
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As for her upcoming docuseries, she explained in a recent Instagram post, “Hi, it’s Melissa. I am so excited to announce that my new, two-part docuseries, “Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken,” is coming to Paramount+ later this year.
“That’s all I can say for now, but please … stay tuned for updates.”
Paramount+ first announced the news on April 4, 2024, revealing the docuseries “centers around the Grammy-award winning rockstar and activist penning an original song inspired by letters sent from incarcerated women in her Kansas hometown.”
The news release states, “MELISSA ETHERIDGE: I’M NOT BROKEN tells an inspiring story of healing and transcendence through the power of music when five female residents from the Topeka Correctional Facility, a women’s prison in Kansas, write letters to Etheridge that she uses as inspiration to create and perform an original song for them.
“Having recently lost her son to opioids, Etheridge works to understand and interrupt the cycle of addiction while connecting with these women who, so often, are forgotten by society.”
The following statement from Etheridge was released in the announcement, “I’m excited for audiences to join me on this powerful journey and hear these remarkable stories filled with pain and struggle but also hope and healing.
“I hope that this docuseries shows viewers the challenges that women face in our prison system while also serving as a resource to those who currently are struggling.’
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Melissa Etheridge’s Inspiring Cancer Journey
Etheridge’s life has not always been easy, and it’s certainly been a source of inspiration for some of her music. Part of her life’s journey includes a bout with breast cancer.
In 2004, she was on tour when she discovered a lump in her left breast. A biopsy confirmed her breast cancer diagnosis. Although her exact type of breast cancer isn’t publicly known, it was stage 2 upon discovery.
“It was a rather large tumor, but had only contaminated one lymph node,” she told ABC News.
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Etheridge had a lumpectomy to remove a 4-centimeter tumor from her breast. This procedure involves removing just the cancer and an area of healthy tissue around it. Her surgery also included the removal of 14 lymph nodes after discovering the cancer had spread.
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She then received chemotherapy which involves giving the singer drugs designed to kill cancer cells. Chemo is usually administered either orally or intravenously. The “Angels Would Fall” singer also received radiation therapy. This kind of cancer treatment uses high-energy beams such as X-rays aimed at cancer cells designed to kill them.
In 2005, the singing cancer warrior bravely performed at the Grammy Awards while still bald from chemotherapy.
She said the morning of the awards show, she had undergone radiation treatment and felt weak.
“I remember halfway through, thinking in my mind, ‘Oh my God,” Etheridge said of her memorable yet inspiring performance.
Thankfully, her course of treatment proved to be successful and she’s still able to perform across the country with her most famous hits. The popular singer is currently touring and had an lovely performance at the recent CMT Music Awards.
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Etheridge says her cancer journey positively impacted her mental health in retrospect. Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik tells SurvivorNet that cancer patients’ emotions can vary before, during, and after a diagnosis.
Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology who also advocates for cancer patients to prioritize their mental health, told SurvivorNet, “We know from good studies that emotional health is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better outcomes.”
“So, working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment [and] your emotional well-being are important and can impact your survival. If that’s related to what activities you do that bring you joy, then you should try to do more of those activities,” Dr. Chase adds.
What to Know About Breast Cancer Screening
As for breast cancer screenings, a mammogram is the primary test doctors use to check for breast cancer. The wide consensus is that women should have annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54.
And while leading organizations like the American Cancer Society say women should have the option to begin annual screenings between 40 and 45, there is some disagreement among doctors as to whether this is beneficial.
For example, after saying for years that women shouldn’t begin mammograms until 50, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently changed their guidelines to say that women of average risk should begin at 40.
Dr. Connie Lehman, a diagnostic radiologist who specializes in breast cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says when you begin mammograms is a decision you should discuss with your doctor, as they can help you understand your specific circumstances and weigh the benefits and potential risks of earlier screening.
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Your mammogram results may lead your doctor to recommend further testing with a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). If these tests suggest changes that might be cancer, you’ll need a biopsy a test in which your doctor removes a small sample of tissue and has it checked for cancer in a lab.
Only a biopsy can confirm or rule out whether you have breast cancer.
Although it can be frightening to go through breast cancer testing, SurvivorNet’s doctors say not to fret. It’s possible for a biopsy to find that a lump is benign or not cancerous.
If you do receive a breast cancer diagnosis, you’ll learn what type of breast cancer you have and the stage of the disease. The stage means how far in your body the cancer has spread.
WATCH: Accepting Yourself After Cancer
Though most breast cancers are not linked to inherited genetic mutations, knowing whether you have a mutation could affect the type of treatment you get. SurvivorNet experts recommend all women who are diagnosed with breast cancer be given genetic testing.
Based on your test results, preferences, and personal circumstances (such as your age), you and your doctor will make decisions about how to proceed with treatment, which we have plenty of expert resources on.
How Turning to Music Can Help Cancer Patients
Creating and listening to music can be a powerful tool. Most people have felt the positive effects of a musical experience, but fewer people know there is actually science to back it up.
“Just listening to music activates more brain regions simultaneously than any other human activity,” Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins, previously told SurvivorNet.
New Evidence About The Healing Power of Music
Melissa Etheridge’s resilience on continuing to perform amid the ups and downs of cancer and life’s struggles is truly admirable.
A study published last year in the journal Parkinson’s Disease researched the effects music had on the brain. It found music can help reduce anxiety for patients. Dr. Serap Bastepe-Gray, who co-founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine with Dr. Pantelyat, led the study.
“The guitar, which is portable, affordable, and one of the most popular instruments in the U.S., has potential as a motivational therapeutic tool both in the clinical and community settings,” Dr. Bastepe-Gray said.
Music therapy is a resource cancer patients turn to during treatment. Music therapy includes “creating, singing, moving, listening and/or relaxing” to the sounds of your favorite songs according to the National Cancer Institute.
This form of therapy can help relieve depression, stress, anxiety, and pain.
Pancreatic cancer survivor Joel Naftelberg can also attest to the power of music, as he found the support he needed from his music family.
Cancer Survivor Joel Naftelberg Learned to Dance on His Problems
“The people that were my heroes in entertainment and rock and roll have been my friends and have been some of the most supportive people that I’ve had in my life,” he told SurvivorNet.
Naftelberg describes his cancer as a “monster.” It’s “attacked every facet of [his] life,” but that doesn’t mean he’s let it get the best of him. Music has been his saving grace.
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“I have found music and rock and roll to be transformational,” Naftelberg said. “Doesn’t necessarily solve anything, but it does let us dance on our problems for at least an hour or two.
“Nothing better on a Friday afternoon than to hang with your friends and listen to beautiful music.”
Focusing on Joy Rather Than Your Condition Has Benefits
Etheridge’s recent performance offers a throwback feel for her and her fans, and these positive emotions can benefit her overall health as she continues to thrive after cancer.
WATCH: Working on your emotional health can help you find joy in life
Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Health, says that maintaining good emotional health and quality of life is associated with better survival and patient outcomes. She encourages cancer patients to prioritize their emotional health for this reason.
“So definitely working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment, your emotional well-being, definitely working on those things and making them better are important and can impact your survival,” Dr. Chase told SurvivorNet.
Dr. Chase suggests tapping into your support network, which can include loved ones like friends and family. It can also be a patient advocate or a support group — in-person or virtual — that shares your cancer or disease.
WATCH: The benefits of finding time for joy amid health struggles.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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