Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/72103
JOIN ABMP JUNE 14 FOR A FREE WEBINAR ON ONCOLOGY MASSAGE FEATURING GAYLE MACDONALD AND TRACY WALTON. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT ABMP.COM. chemo, and radiation. Besides the risk for lymphedema or triggering pain, people who have been through cancer treatment can have body image issues, decrease in bone health, incisional pain, long-term effects on vital organs, and unconscious trauma, just to name a few challenges. There are no statistics on how many therapists have received fundamental training to work with oncology clients. Perhaps a quarter of one percent of massage therapists specialize in oncology massage. My guess is that only 10–20 percent of therapists have had bare-bones training in this area. However, all therapists will encounter clients who have been through cancer treatment—yes, all therapists. It is impossible to avoid them. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are 12 million cancer survivors in the United States. More than one in three women and nearly one in two men will be diagnosed with cancer at some point. Survivors are left with a variety of side effects years after treatment, which means that therapists will encounter them in their fitness center practice, spa, chiropractic office, at corporate massage events, and in private practice. Ideally, clients and therapists will instruction and clinical experience about working with cancer patients. This is movement in the right direction. What I also see taking place, and it is what I feared would happen, schools and therapists have discovered that massage is no longer seen as an activity that will trigger metastasis, but they don't realize that this is only one part of the message. The other part is that working with this population requires adequate training. Metastasis has never been the real issue. The actual problems stem from the side effects of treatment—surgery, be partners in the therapeutic process. However, the greatest burden for the client's safety and well-being still lies with the massage practitioners, as well as those who train them, regulate the schools, and provide guidance to massage educators. There is a collective question that arises from the stories in this article and the hundreds and hundreds of miscalculations that they represent: How can we best care for people affected by cancer? Are massage schools and therapists prepared well enough to meet their needs? Should the basic training for all massage students entail knowledge and experience with cancer clients? While it is true that a few mistakes occur despite a therapist's years of experience and knowledge, negative repercussions are mostly due to a lack of training and supervised experience. Mine surely were. A number of groups need to sit around the table and try to address this issue: massage school owners, professional associations such as the Society for Oncology Massage, and perhaps groups such as the Oncology Nurses' Association and the National Lymphedema Network. I am completely aware that curriculum changes are a major undertaking for massage schools, but change at the grassroots level is the only way to provide a safer atmosphere for people affected by cancer treatment. Thanks to the progression of the work, so much is now known about the potential benefits and cautions of massaging these clients that practitioners don't need to work in the dark or be forced to reinvent the wheel. Treatment for cancer is a draining and arduous process. It is my dream that all who have been through this experience can lie down on a massage therapist's table and relax, leave their vigilance at the door, wallow in the sensations of comfort, work gently toward improving their health, and become whole again in the presence of therapists who embrace the body, mind, and spirit exactly the way it is. with oncology massage since 1994. Her roots started at Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon. From that work she has spawned two texts: Medicine Hands: Massage Therapy for People with Cancer (Findhorn Press, 2007) and Massage for the Hospital Patient and Medically Frail Client (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2005). Contact her at medhands@hotmail.com. Gayle MacDonald has been involved earn CE hours at your convenience: abmp's online education center, www.abmp.com 39