What to expect from your massage when touched by cancer

by Jet Rupar

Living with cancer is not an easy thing by any means.  Stress can run high during treatments.  Stress relief can be found, however.  Massage, yoga and exercise can be utilized.  There are people in all of these fields who are trained to help people living with cancer diagnosis. 

As a massage therapist who has had training in oncology massage, here are a few things that I do differently.  

  • A more detailed intake process.  Oncology massage therapists are going to do a more thorough intake than a therapist who isn’t.  Things I like to know as a massage therapist who is working with someone who has been touched by cancer diagnosis:  Type of cancer, how this has affected you personally, treatments/drugs you are on, energy levels of the day, where your port may be, any other problems you may be experiencing.  I want to make sure I understand what YOU are going through, because no two treatments are the same, and no two people respond the same way to the same treatment.
  • Modified treatment.  I am going to modify treatment in several ways.  The pressure used when I work on someone who is living with cancer is not the same as when I am working on someone who doesn’t have that diagnosis.  There is a lot of things that are going on in your body when you have cancer.  Not to mention that stress levels are probably pretty high.  What oncology massage focuses on is allowing the body to relax and release some of the stress that comes along with your treatments.
  • I will also try to make sure you are the most comfortable you can be.  This can mean, giving you a massage while you sit in a chair, or modifying how you are laying on the table, whether that is having you lay on your side while working on your back, or using extra bolstering to make sure that everything is positioned comfortably.
  • There is also an increased risk of Lymphedema with most cancers in general.  This occurs if lymph nodes have been removed, or have been radiated.  As a massage therapist, I want to make sure that I am not the cause of lymphedema.  Oncology massage therapists have training on how to ensure that your massage does not aggravate the lymphedema process. 
  • PLEASE NOTE!!!!!! I AM NOT AND I EMPHASIZE NOT A MANUAL LYMPH DRAINAGE THERAPIST.  I CAN NOT DO MANUAL LYMPH DRAINAGE ON YOU.  IF THIS IS WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, I WILL BE REFERRING YOU OUT TO SOMEONE WHO HAS THAT TRAINING.

Here are also a few websites and articles to visit.

The Society for Oncology Massage is dedicated to the promotion of the safe delivery of massage therapy to people living with a cancer diagnosis.  This site also allows you to find a trained therapist in your area.

#OncologyMassage  #MassageTherapy #WhyKnotWellness