Massage and cancer - including for those with metastatic disease

Longtermsurvivor · May 2016

A recent question at the lung mets thread in Forum 8 https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/780588?page=51 made me realize (again!) how fortunate I am to live where I do.

I've long been a devotee of hands-on bodywork, energy work, massage, chiropractic and osteopathic approaches to healing.

When officially diagnosed with cancer in 1991, I continued to receive hands-on healing and except for avoiding areas of pain and bone mets, have had a green light to continue from my conventional, as well as CAM/integrative, healers.

Because I've also experienced lymphedema due to disease progression, I learned lymphatic self-massage and how to instruct massage therapists to touch my affected arm - there are guidelines, not usually restrictions.

Several of my friends are physical therapists, others are massage therapists, the local integrative cancer centers offer massage and cancer programs do too.

On Tuesday both my oncologist and hospice doctors approved gentle treatments to my neck where the lymph nodes are swollen, probably with cancer. They both thought the benefits outweighed the potential harms.

To learn that patients with lung mets are being told not to have massage seems like a crying shame...but maybe it's just a regional difference. Or oncologist ignorance? Who's to say?

Does anyone else have stories to share about massage and cancer?

TIA for your responses! ~ Stephanie

xxx

Here are some texts I found on the Internet:

* Massage spreads breast cancer cells?

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/comp_med/ask_expert/2005_03/question_13

* Cancer and Massage

By Tracy Walton

http://www.charlottemaxwell.org/wp-content/uploads/Cancer-and-Massage-article.pdf

* Cancer and Massage – Part 2

By Tracy Walton

http://www.tracywalton.com/downloads/Walton-Cancer-and-MT-Part-II-Fall-06-MTJ.pdf

Could Massage Therapy Promote Cancer Metastasis?

* By Debra Curties

http://www.tracywalton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Curties-Could-MT-Promote-CA-Metastasis-MTJ-Fall-00.pdf

* Massage therapy for patients with metastatic cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Toth M, Marcantonio ER, Davis RB, Walton T, Kahn JR, Phillips RS.

J Altern Complement Med. 2013 Jul;19(7):650-6. doi: 10.1089/acm.2012.0466.

2013 Jan 31. PubMed PMID: 23368724; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3700435.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, the results of this pilot randomized controlled trial among patients with advanced cancer support the hypothesis that providing massage and no-touch control interventions at home by professional therapists is feasible. Therapeutic massage resulted in significant improvement in short-term quality of life of these patients near the end of life. These results suggest that providing therapeutic massage may be associated with further beneficial effects, such as less pain and improved sleep quality, but larger randomized controlled trials are needed to substantiate these findings.

Free full text article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3700435/

Hopeful82014 · May 2016

Thank you for the links as wells for raising the issue, Stephanie. That is very thoughtful of you.

I have been wary of massage since diagnosis, particularly since I knew I was definitely node+ from the outset and was concerned about the issue of promoting metastasis. I've since had massage at the cancer center I use, where there is a masseuse trained in massage for cancer patients. I'd love to have more options but at this point would rather be safe than sorry.

I look forward to hearing about other's experiences. Thanks again for sharing your, Stephanie. Sending appreciative and caring thoughts your way, as always.

Heidihill · May 2016

I had read somewhere that after a massage, one had a significant boost in immune cells. I was really wiped out from chemo, surgery and rads so I decided to try for a cumulative effect and get a massage everyday for 3 months. It was the best thing I could have done under the circumstances, I believe. This combined with walking in the woods everyday was very healing for me.

Stephanie, I'm happy to hear you have access to the healing hands of varied practitioners. All the best to you.

SelenaWolf · May 2016

I don't have metastatic disease, but I have been having regular massages for years to help me combat anxiety and relieve OCD through relaxation. I continued to have regular massages all through treatment and continue today to schedule them, at least, once a month. I think I've heard every argument both for- or against massage for cancer patients, but, after mulling it over, I decided that they were just too vital to my emotional health to give them up. I figured that if I didn't have stray cancer cells roving about my system, I'd miss out on the benefits and, if I did have stray cancer cells roaming about, then having a regular massage wasn't going to make the buggers speed up or go away. I guess that I have a fatalistic mindset.

lindab142 · May 2016

Hi all, I've just been diagnosed with lymphedema and am in some pain everyday. My surgeon is going to look into getting me massage treatments and teach me how to do it. Of course, it's in a different medical plan, so I have to research changing mine so I don't have to travel 50 miles for a few months to the one in my plan.

I had a regular massage at a breast cancer center and since I'm not one to relax, it was wonderful.

My incision on the right breast had a hardness on the right side and now it's moved to the other side too and is painful. I'm going to look at the articles you posted to see if there's any connection, but I'm not thinking that way right now.

I've found so much support here, I just wanted to thank everyone.

Linda B.

Massage and cancer - including for those with metastatic disease

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