"Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York
City is a national leader in cancer treatment.
Researchers recently surveyed patients who had
therapeutic massage added to their treatment
regimens. Over a three year period, results
impressively confirmed the value of massage. Anxiety levels
decreased by 52%, pain by 40%, fatigue by 41%,
depression by 32%, and nausea by 21%. Researchers
concluded that massage is a “markedly effective,
uncommonly noninvasive and inexpensive way” to
control symptoms for cancer patients."
Adapted
from “Better Living & Health”,
Portland (Maine) Press-Herald,
Summer, 2006
(quotation courtesy of the
Society for Oncology Massage)
What is Oncology Massage?
At its most basic, oncology
massage is bodywork that is designed specifically for
the needs of people who are dealing with cancer and/or
its treatments. The main focus is to enhance healing
while "do no harm" to people whose bodies are:
- dealing with lowered immune
systems,
- at risk for developing
lymphedema
- stressed by radiation and/or
chemotherapy treatment(s), or recovering from
surgery
Enhance Healing
- Much more than a feel-good treat or relaxation
technique, Oncology Massage can actually
assist your body and spirit in their constant
pursuit of restoring you to health. By integrating
Western and Eastern modalities of bodywork in order
to address the symptoms of both cancer treatments
and the disease, Oncology Massage can help
with the numerous side effects from chemotherapy,
radiation treatments and surgery such as:
- nausea,
- diarrhea,
- constipation,
- lack of appetite,
- insomnia,
- exhaustion,
- low blood counts,
- pain
This massage can also help:
- boost the immune system
- strengthen compromised
body organs and systems,
- build up blood counts,
- lessen depression, and
- enhance feelings of
well-being.
Physical Benefits
Massage is
now recognized as a beneficial
complementary therapy for people
who are receiving traditional
treatments for cancer (surgery,
chemotherapy, or radiation). Not
only does bodywork bring
nurturing touch to those who
have been poked and prodded in
the typical diagnosis and
treatments, it has actually been
proven in scientific studies to
be beneficial for patients who
are being treated for cancer.
Psychological
Benefits
Massage
brings a unique
focus
to the body of a cancer patient;
one of nurturing attention. This
is poles apart from the typical
painful invasive medical
procedures of cancer treatment.
Cancer patients in treatment use
words such as punctured, cut,
poisoned or burned to describe
how their bodies are being
treated. They feel like they are
seen only as their cancer or
their cancer treatment. Their
entire life turns out to be
about eradicating the cancer.
The medical treatments are
anything but pleasant; so unlike
a massage which nurtures,
soothes, comforts and subtly
heals that same body.
Clients
report that the massage is the
first time they’ve felt like
being in their body since the
cancer diagnosis. They say that
it is the first time they have
felt a positive procedure used
in the healing strategy.
In
addition to changing the focus
of treatment to one of nurturing
and healing, when a client
chooses to receive an oncology
massage, it gives them a sense
of empowerment to be able to
take control of the direction of
their healing process.
This may
be the most important time of
your life. What you do now may
affect the quality and health of
the rest of your life. This is
your time and you come first.
Whether that is getting enough
rest or saying no to too much
stress, or receiving a nurturing
massage, this is the time to
take care of you.
“Do No Harm” respects the limits of a body that may already be
stressed by the disease and its treatments. For
instance, a client may be detoxing from chemotherapy, or
may be recovering from radiation burns. An oncology
massage will honor the body’s healing process by
modulating pressure levels and the length of the massage
so as not to re-traumatize the body with too much or too
deep work.
How might an
oncology massage be distinctive?
As most massages, it
will be tailored to the individual client.
However, several things may be different
from a massage you might receive in a spa,
for example.
- A detailed intake
will be completed, including the kind of
cancer you have (or had), your treatment
history, your current treatment, any
symptoms or side-effects you are
experiencing, and any medical devices or
lymph node involvement you might have.
- Oncology Massage
integrates safety protocols into all massages
when lymph nodes have been compromised.
- Light pressure
and limited duration
- Any area of your
body that has compromised lymph nodes
will be honored with special techniques
so as not to cause lymphedema
- Depending on
issues specific to your body, the
position you lie in will be modified to
accommodate any surgical or radiation
sites or specific medical devices you
might have. (Maybe you still have that
port for chemotherapy infusions.)
- It may be
suggested that you receive an oncology
massage between 1 – 3 times per week
while you are dealing with serious
physical issues of the treatment.
- If you have a
blood disorder, or low blood counts, you
may receive a gentle technique that
addresses those.
Most importantly, you
will be met with love, respect and a
recognition of who you are and what your own
healing process is.
