Massage Therapy for People with Cancer
Massage therapists generally are taught that firm or deep pressure is necessary to release stress or knotted muscles. However, forceful bodywork is not necessary to create a profound effect. Physical symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue and insomnia can be alleviated with the use of gentle touch modalities, as can emotional discomforts such as isolation, hopelessness, or anxiety. Heavy pressure, on the other hand, can make all of the above symptoms worse.
Bodyworkers not only have to overcome their initial training, which favors deep pressure, they must also educate clients who want, and think they need, deep pressure. This is especially true if massage has been part of the client’s life prior to receiving cancer treatment; they request vigorous pressure even during times when it is obvious that they shouldn’t have it, such as when their platelet count is dangerously low or they are undergoing chemotherapy for advanced cancer.
Like physicians, touch therapists have a responsibility to “first do no harm.” One therapist tells the story of a firefighter she massaged who was receiving chemotherapy for stage 4 testicular cancer. He was assigned to her at the chiropractic clinic where she practiced. The client was disappointed when told he would get gentler massage. For the next appointment, he circumvented the gentler therapist and asked to be assigned to someone he knew would give him deep massage. Soon after the second massage, the firefighter called the chiropractic clinic to say that he had not felt well after the deep massage and was in pain. He now books in with the gentle therapist.
