Is Massage Safe For Cancer Patients?

By Holly Dunbar, CMT, RH (AGH)

New Moon Body Work and Botanicals

. http://www.newmoonbody.com

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Is Massage Safe For Cancer Patients?

Skilled massage can offer many benefits to cancer patients in the midst of treatment or on the road to recovery. Clinical research outcomes report that massage can reduce many of the common complaints such as nausea, pain, depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Because of the special concerns of cancer patients, specialized training in oncology massage is important, and the patient needs to also communicate well with the therapist to adjust the treatments as needed.

For years a myth persisted that massage was an absolute no-no for cancer patients. Massage schools perpetuated this standard based on a flawed theory, which research and clinical experience has since disproven. The theory was that because massage has the ability to increase circulation, it may increase the risk of spreading the cancer. Research has since not been able to substantiate the claim that massage increases circulation. It may be more accurate to say that massage therapy has circulatory intent, but even with this assumption, the act of metastasis of cancer cells is much more complex than simply dislodging cells from a primary site and circulating them. Avoidance of the primary and secondary tumor sights, and careful use of appropriate pressure are necessary adjustments needed for safe massage of cancer patients.

Massage is still possible, and may be of great benefit, during chemotherapy, but again very careful guidelines must be followed. Remember that massage has been shown to decrease symptoms of many of the most common symptoms of treatment nausea, pain, depression, anxiety, and fatigue. But timing is everything during active treatment. Chemotherapy actually leaves the body quickly, but it is very powerful medicine that can have lingering side effects for weeks, and even years. A patient in a very depleted state should never receive a massage with “circulatory intent,” i.e no deep tissue, Swedish massage should not be over-vigorous, pressure should be very light to moderate, and perhaps a shorter session is indicated.

As the field of oncology massage grows, it is heartening to know there are other options for cancer patients. Massage therapy ranks high on complimentary therapies that patients report were of benefit during treatment and recovery. For a patient seeking a skilled therapist it is important to keep the following in mind when interviewing a therapist their years in doing massage generally, experience and training in working with cancer patients, and other therapies they may be trained in including energy work or lymph drainage. With careful communication between therapist and client, massage therapy may prove to be a very healing experience.