Massage therapy offers the potential to soothe pain physically and emotionally

Massage is a safe and supportive therapy to receive when you have a diagnosis of cancer.

It is important to understand that there are considerations when receiving treatment, to ensure you receive the best care possible. You want to find a therapist who understands and is open to learning about the disease process in your body and your changing needs. A trained, respectful and educated therapist can provide massage during diagnosis, medical treatments (ie. chemotherapy, radiation, surgery), when in remission, and through palliative care with a terminal diagnosis.

Massage therapy is also a profound support in “the after”.

This is a time when cancer did not take a person’s life (they have survived), intensive treatments are over, sometimes supports fall away, there is no evidence of disease, and some folks are adjusting to living with a chronic cancer. In this phase, the nervous system is often in a state of dysregulation and needs support that works directly with establishing a sense of safety in the body, and specific care to the brain and spinal nerves. This is often the time a person is processing the lived experience of cancer and is in a dance with acceptance as there is often a lot of change; in a person’s physical body and in the way they navigate and perceive the world. This is a time of deep integration.

Reflecting on my clinical experience over the past 20 years, as well as reference to the reputable studies that have been done, massage therapy has helped people with; pain management, anxiety, depression, disconnection from the body and/or from people, decreased self esteem, body image, muscular tension, sleep issues, stiffness and pain, swelling, nausea, fatigue and feelings of isolation or loneliness. Massage therapy and other forms of bodywork also help to create space to release the accumulation of emotional trauma from our body tissues.

When I enter a therapeutic relationship I often find that a primary goal of our time together is to support the reintegration of a person, reminding them that they are so much more than a diagnosis. Often what is needed most is a safe place to rest, to offer comfort and compassionate care, and to help with symptom relief specific to the individual.

Massage and therapeutic touch have the potential to be a healing and supportive addition to a person’s circle of care.

Every person is unique, as is their story, and this requires deep reverence in treatment. The experiences and the stories I have been privileged to share with people through my hands and my heart have shaped me as a massage therapist, as a yoga teacher and how I experience life.

Some general guidelines of important concerns to discuss with your therapist:

(adapted from Tracy Walton’s “Massage therapy for people with cancer:  Fear and Healing”)

• Where is the specific issue you are presently dealing with, and naming how it feels
• Current or past treatments (surgery/radiation/chemo/bone marrow transplant/etc.), side effects, complications, and discuss how this will be considered in the massage treatment
• Discuss lymph node involvement and risk of lymphedema
• Discuss medications and their effects
• Blood counts if known, and any clotting considerations
• Discuss if dialogue with your Medical Doctor, Oncologist, Naturopathic Doctor would be appropriate and necessary, based on your health history, status, and stage of progression.
• A continued update to any changes in your health is essential, and it is also necessary to chart your response to every massage treatment to ensure you are always getting the best possible care.
• Most importantly, how YOU are – not just physically, but emotionally as well. 

This is a simplification and a general look at some key areas that need to be covered when you have a more complex condition and you’re seeing a massage therapist. Not all areas noted above will be relevant to everyone, and in some people there will be a need to expand on the complexity of the above. When these concerns are discussed openly and honestly between you and your therapist, the treatment can proceed with more confidence and a greater depth of trust for everyone involved.

Connecting in this way can pave the path for true compassion and healing, finding our way to wholeness.

It is my hope that we as a society can have more conversations about existing fears of the unknown and the fear many have of illness, and perhaps it is possible that we can begin to move to a place where we are able to embrace the mystery and humanness of life. There is a sacredness in sharing this journey with others through touch, bridging the science, the necessary education of the body and its systems, and the intuitive understanding of massage.

With a deep respect for the human body, and the safe spaces where we can put ourselves back together again.

Amber Young