Description
Providing a light massage is safe for most people suffering with cancer. It can provide comfort and relief from emotional stress and can temporarily relieve pain, sleeping difficulties, minor digestive problems and muscular stiffness.
Benefits to Treatment:
Receiving Oncology Massage will provide clients with both physical and emotional relief providing a sense of calm and serenity in what can be a very stressful and uncertain time.
This type of therapy will offer time to focus on the client and not just the cancer.
Physical Benefits:
• Less chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy – reduces numbness
• Less chemotherapy induced nausea
• Decrease in inflammation and swelling (Oncology Massage Therapy can include lymphatic drainage techniques)
• Improved circulation
• Reducing the pain in sore muscles (Oncology Massage Therapy increases the release of endorphins which in turn reduces pain)
• Lowers the level of stress hormones in the blood – Oncology Massage Therapy
appears to lower cortisol levels (stress hormones)
• Improved ability to tolerate cancer treatment side effects
• Improved sleep
• Fewer headaches
• Non-invasive treatment
Emotional Benefits:
• Promotes relaxation using breathing techniques to release tension
• An Oncology Massage Therapy treatment will provide a sense of calm and a serenity experience which will provide a time of respite from pain and fear
• Reduces anxiety, stress and depression – Oncology Massage Therapy appears to lower cortisol levels (stress hormones)
When Oncology (Cancer) Massage Therapy can be Carried out:
Receiving Chemotherapy: Before, after and during treatment (however, certain drugs can affect the massage therapist – these will be checked during consultation and a 4 week period post treatment will be advised)
Receiving Radiotherapy: 2 weeks after receiving treatment
Immunotherapy: 2 weeks after receiving treatment
If you are receiving any other type of oncology (cancer) treatments, please discuss this with the massage therapist at the consultation.
Contra Indications
These are the total restrictions for when Oncology (Cancer) Massage Therapy would not be advisable:
- Any areas where there is a recent incision, open wounds and bruising
- Blood clots and Poor circulation:
Unexplained temperature changes, discoloration of a limb, swelling, poor sensation, pain and tenderness, fatigue or unexplained shortness of breath could be a sign of a blood clot, deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism.
- Infections:
If a cancer patient is currently fighting an infection, especially if a fever is present, massage therapy should not be carried out.
- Severe low white blood cell count:
If severe leukopenia is present, massage therapy should be deferred until an oncologist has approved Massage Therapy is safe to be carried out.
- Severe Thrombocytopenia:
Massage Therapy should not be carried out if a person has very low platelet counts.
- Sites of active tumour growth or lymph nodes affected by cancer:
These areas must be avoided during Massage Therapy