Health Update: Hypnotic self-help

WOMEN with severe breast pain may benefit from being taught self- hypnosis, a study by researchers at Leighton Hospital, Crewe, has indicated. Thirty-five women with mastalgia received hypnotherapy and carried out autohypnosis daily. The results, reported in Mims Magazine Weekly, showed that 85 per cent of them had a 90 per cent improvement in their symptoms.

A report from the Breast Care Campaign says that most women with benign breast disorders are unhappy with the advice given by their GPs, and that nearly half receive no treatment. Leaflets on breast pain and other disorders are available from the campaign. Write, enclosing SAE, to 1 St Mary Abbots Place, London W6 6LS.