Massage Therapy for Cancer

By Amy Scottino LMT, MTI, CEP

Did you know it’s both safe and beneficial to receive regular massages during and post-cancer treatment? There is more and more research being done on this topic to help practitioners feel comfortable recommending oncology massage to their patients. Most importantly, find a trained oncology massage therapist.

All states have a governing body for keeping licenses current and making sure massage therapists are following all the rules and regulations. However, they only regulate the licensure for massage therapy. There are many massage modalities or specialties that are not regulated, including oncology massage. Every two years, massage therapists are required to undergo at least 12 hours of continued education to renew their LMT license. The oncology massage specialty consists of an educational class that gives us a certificate of completion rather than a certification. There is definitely a need for more and higher education in this particular specialty.

In the early years of massage therapy, practitioners were told to avoid massaging clients that had cancer, because we could spread the cancer or burst a tumor. There wasn’t enough research in existence to show either harm or benefit. Personally, I struggled turning away patients, believing there had to be a safe way to touch them. The question became much bigger and that much more personal in 2007 when my younger sister, at age 25 and 5 months pregnant, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma stage III. I became highly motivated to educate myself on delivering safe massage to cancer patients.

I learned about manual lymphatic drainage and immediately knew I was on the right track. Fast forward some years, and oncology massage became an organized modality with two amazing creators/educators. One groundbreaking professional, who also happens to be my mentor, is Gayle MacDonald. Another amazing leader in the field is Tracy Walton, who has an organization that trains oncology massage therapists. These two brilliant women have changed the landscape, so that therapists can deliver safe massage to people living with cancer.

So, in response to the big question: is massage safe for people living with cancer? The answer is a resounding YES! Personalizing each session to the individual client is the key to safety. This is where the additional education becomes crucial for the therapist. For instance, if a client is fatigued from chemotherapy or radiation, the therapist could adjust the session in a few ways: shorten the length of time, the amount of pressure used or even the speed of the massage strokes. One article validates this approach, stating that the aforementioned massage technique, comparable to a Swedish or relaxation massage, caused “a significant reduction in fatigue, a debilitating sequela.” 4 This is monumental for my clients that suffer from fatigue, and many of them have reported an improved quality of sleep the night of their massage.

As an oncology massage therapist, I want to help my clients “heal.” The best time to heal is when our nervous system is in parasympathetic mode, the time to rest and digest. Most of my clients living with cancer are in a constant state of sympathetic mode (the flight, fight or freeze mode). In each “mode,” hormones are being released; however, if we stay in sympathetic mode for too long, it will take a toll on our bodies. For instance, when the sympathetic nervous system is triggered, “an infusion of glucose is shot into the bloodstream for a quick energy boost.”5 If we need to run away from a bear in the woods, this is super helpful! A study found that “just 10 minutes of massage activates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system.”6 If a massage session is 60 minutes in length, the client will be in parasympathetic mode for about 50 minutes. This allows the body, mind and spirit to reset, and it will break the pain cycle, even if it’s just for those minutes.

There is abundant convincing evidence to demonstrate that oncology massage is both safe and helpful. To find an oncology massage therapist near you, follow this link: https://www.s4om.org/resources/preferred-practitioners/

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