Of course, all persons using hypnosis for the alleviation of pain should consult their family physician. Pain is nature's way of indicating that something is wrong with the organism. It would be foolish to suggest that a pain in the stomach will disappear when this may be a sign of a needed appendix operation. The same may be said of constant migraine headaches. It must be determined that the headache is not a symptom of a brain tumor or some other pathological condition. It may be of interest to know that hypnosis is presently being used to relieve pain in terminal cancer patients. There is an excellent article on this subject, and I recommend it to doctors reading this book. It is called "The Use of Hypnosis in the Case of the Cancer Patient" which appeared in the January 1954 issue of _Cancer_.[1] [1] At the same time, I would highly recommend the booklet, _Helping the Dying Patient and His Family_, published by the National Association of Social Workers, 2 Park Avenue, New York 16, New York. Price: 75 cents. There are at present several thousand dentists throughout the country using hypnosis. They have formed their own society and publish a quarterly journal, _The Journal of the American Society of Psychosomatic Dentistry_. One of the best books in this field is called _Dental Hypnosis Handbook_ by Jacob Stolzenberg, D.D.S. An excellent article is "Danger! Hypnotherapist at Work" by M. Abramson.[2] The author reviews briefly the pros and cons regarding the medical use of hypnosis. He concludes: "It is the author's opinion, based on an extensive personal experience of over 15 years, that the use of hypnotherapy by a physician or dentist who has been properly trained and who uses this technique strictly within his field of competence carries with it no more (and probably less) 'danger' than the use of many other techniques of treatment used in medicine today." [2] Bull. Hennepin Co. Med. Soc., 1960, 31:101-106 Chapter 3 Is Hypnosis the Answer? Dr. George Estabrooks, professor of psychology at Colgate University and author of the book, _Hypnotism_, made the following two statements in a paper called "The Future of Hypnosis" given as part of a program on "The Nature of Hypnosis" at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in 1959: "It would be well to sound a word of caution against certain attitudes which have become prevalent and which can be well illustrated in the field of medicine. In this respect, direct suggestion is under the ban. For example, a dictum, 'Never remove the symptom unless the cause is understood,' is much emphasized. Its validity is greatly open to question, since much of medical practice is direct symptom removal, as only a little thought makes apparent.