Melanoma - to masssage or not

[de_anonymous92]

i have a new client coming in on tuesday. she has a seforum.xxxe 0 melanoma. her doctor is going to cut it out just to be on the safe side. now i know melanomas contraindicate massage, but is seforum.xxxe 0 still a contraindication? she is meeting with the dermatologist today. should i get a doc's release to be on the safe side?


thanks.

 

[starrchylde_117]

I think it's fine to massage this woman. Here's a quote I got from this website: http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/treatment.aspx?id=821

"Patients with melanoma in situ (seforum.xxxe 0) have melanoma cells only in the outer layer of skin (epidermis). There is no invasion of the deeper layer (dermis) and therefore essentially no potential for spread. Melanoma in situ is curable by adequate removal with surgery."

That tells me the treatment isn't going to be much different than anytime someone has something excised at the dermatologist. You'll just avoid the site of the excision until it heals, but massage to the rest of the body will be fine.

By the way, why do you think melanoma is a contraindication? My belief is that all cancer is a "caution" rather than a "contraindication". People with cancer of all kinds can benefit from massage; you just have to consider their diagnosis and treatment regimen before deciding which modalities are appropriate.

 

[Shania]

thanks for the link blisss. that makes me feel a lot better. my pathology book says squamous cell carcinoma(SCC) and malg melanoma are systemically contraindicated because massage may cause it to metastasize. the book didn't say anything about seforum.xxxe 0, so i wasn't sure. basal cell carcinoma(BCC) is listed as a local contraindication.

 

[Tattooed]

It's too bad books are still printing that information. There was a false belief at one time that massage could spread cancer. Now, that's no longer believed to be true. Here's a good article about massaging people with cancer:

http://www.massageandbodywork.com/Articles/JuneJuly2005/Bodywork.html

This article addresses massage for people with more serious diagnoses than your client with Seforum.xxxe 0 melanoma. (Again, I wouldn't worry about massaging her at all.) I just thought you might find the information helpful in case you receive requests for massage from other clients diagnosed with active cancer.

 

[Legend]

thanks for the article. that will be a great lunch read. my client discussed massage with her doctor. this is her email to me.

Well, the surgeon said that unless the melanoma has gone into the Lymph system this shouldn’t be an issue at all, since mine was caught very early, but to be on the safe side, he suggested I go ahead and wait.

she is going to come in in 3 weeks.

thanks so much for your help blisss. t006

 

[Poojy :)]

Jillith,

You are not massaging the cancer, you are massaging the client. Period. Use caution around the lesion so as not to aggravate any tender tissues. This person would not be coming to you for massage if he or she did not feel it was appropriate for their health and well-being. Use common sense and carry on. Touch is healing in and of itself.... heal the concern this person might have about what's going to happen to their skin as a result of this cancerous growth. Heal this person's concern and stress just by being there and doing your very best work........

One of my dearest clients came to me for a massage the night before her lumpectomy. She continued receiving massage from me throughout her surgical recovery, all of her chemo and radiation treatments, etc. Her oncologist encouraged her to have massage throughout her treatments. He also told her that he recommended massage to ALL of his cancer patients regardless of the type of cancer they might have if for no other reason than the stress relief factor they could receive from massage. It was that particular oncologist's opinion that each and every cancer patient in the country should have his or her own massage therapist with whom to work to help increase appetite, decrease stress, etc.

Trust yourself to do right by this person, and just do your best work!

 

[MomTo3]

I agree with Anastasia, and have had several suspect moles etc removed, and hasn't stopped me giving or recieving massages. Along the same lines as Anastasia, i have a client with terminal bladder cancer and the best relief for her is the massages

Tim

 

[FrozenWaffles]

Her oncologist encouraged her ...

Does this mean that you would encourage/require cancer patients to check with their doctor first?

 

[`SoA Nintendo]

in school we were taught that BCC is locally contraindicated while SCC and MM is systemically contraindicated. my pathology book says the same thing. we were told that terminal patients are a different story only because it makes them more comfortable. the reason i asked the question is because it was a seforum.xxxe 0. the client's doc says to wait, so i'm going to respect his decision. after all, he's had more training in this then the few hours my state requires for MT's.

thanks again.

edit: this client isn't freaked out by the cancer at all. she is having some scalene and sciatic issues that need to be worked on.

 

[plumdumplings]

akb,

No my clients don't have to check with their doctors first. Most of them wouldn't anyway. My clients who have had cancer and other grave illnesses come to me for loving comfort and the peace and relaxation and RELIEF from their stress and the aggravations they are experiencing as a result of their contact with doctors, nurses, care facilities, etc. To have them go back to a place where they feel, as one gal put it "like a damned number or just another cancer chart" would be abominable in my mind. Besides, the doctors are not going to be in the room when the massage is given, and those in this area who know my clients as their patients know that these folks will do what they choose as is what is best for them individually after due consideration of all factors. AND, somehow that always seems to land on the side of the fence where peace of mind and body come first.

Often I have been the FIRST appointment made after a "bad" diagnosis. I take that responsibility VERY seriously and always work in the manner that is most appropriate for each case.... including active cancers. The client's needs and desires take presidence. PERIOD. The gal to whom I referred earlier told her oncologist AFTER she had her lumpectomy that she was going to continue receiving massage whether he liked it or not. He agreed with her that it would be a marvelous thing for her - especially since she is a single mother of a 12 yr son.

As for massaging when there is active cancer - you never know when you will be doing that. This same gal had had the lump in her breast [L lat breast under the nipple] for 6 months and did nothing about it because it was the size of a pea. Up till the day it was removed it didn't change size. She never told me about it, figuring her concern was minimal at the time. So, I was massaging active cancer...

Unless you are a divine deity you will never know with a certainty if you are working on someone who has cancer, etc unless the client tells you so. Ovarian cancer is a particularly sneaky nasty mess - one of my dearly departeds didn't know she had it till an annual checkup showed it. One of my fellows had prostate cancer, same scenario, doctor told him after he worried about his urinary stream for a few months. Did they stop having massages because they had a little something "not right" before their checkups? No. Did I ever think once that they might indeed have cancer of any type or any other grave illness? Not really, but, whenever I have concerns regarding their health I am certain to voice them so that the client can then make his/her decision as to how to proceed.

Hopefully that will answer your questions.

J

 

[masdradok]

Yes it does, thank you very much! I usually tell clients to check with their doctor first mainly to cover the bases, but really I feel the client is the best to determine their care....as long as they are armed with info, which I might not have (read: mostly likely have not) kept up on. If I kept up on pathologies more I might feel more comfortable telling the client what I know and have them decide to either check with their doctor or proceed with bodywork.

 

[Debi]

I learned at a very tender age that the doctors can pretty much drop off the face of the earth when a patient needs care and comfort when ill. Personal story - I'm an oldest child. My sister Lis died when I was 6 yrs old. From the time I was 3 till she died I watched my sister slowly die and my mother give her massages every day to ease her suffering and pain. The doctors told Mom that was a no-no. She told them, and rightly so, to fob off!! Her baby was dying of Wilmes tumor [in 1953 an incurable childhood cancer] from the minute she was born, and she was going to make sure her daughter was as comfortable as she could be, no matter their "high faluting prissy assed attitudes" [and that's the cleaned up version.] All of us - Mom, Dad, my brother and I held her, loved her, massaged her did whatever it took to make her comfortable.

Doctors are the least of the patient's worries and concerns - family's too for that matter. Whenever there has been a grave illness for my clients and friends, the first thing they think of [besides "will the insurance help pay for this?"] is how to make whomever the illness is effecting comfortable and most often that includes some form of touch therapy, massage, energy work, etc. Patients intuitively seek to be comfortable, to be less in pain, despair, etc. in their illnesses in my experience. Cancer, whatever, they want to be reassured that they are still alive, still touchable, still lovable, etc. Touch, massage, etc reassure them of that, and, I for one will never deny that to any client, family member or friend.

 

[tom_terrific73]

It's a bitter-sweet way to realize healing touch is a physical form to the word love, and that with the proper intentions, it can do no harm. It's wonderful that your mother was a great teacher in that way. It makes me ponder what sort of messages I received (verbal and non verbal) about various illnesses and "comforting." But that experience also was with a "terminal" case, something I'd not have a problem doing either. It's with the in remission, not flared up cases I'd second guess more.

I seem to run into sick people who listen to and trust their doctors. If a new client sets an appointment and makes a point to tell me before the appointment that they have got a particular disease, then I ask them questions about their experience with it and their doctors. If they ask me if massage would be okay, then I always tell them to ask their doctor first if they are unsure. Quite frankly, I don't keep up with pathologies and usually research it first on the internet or in my books before their appointment. I'd hate to aggrevate something.

 

[adthepie]

Not even with the in remission cases do I hesitate to provide the loving, caring, nurturing touch my clients have come to expect of me. Case in point is my "2nd Mom" - 74 nearly 75 yr old female - 3 yr survivor of colon cancer, w/ thyroid cancer now in remission. She demands, and expects me to "do your best work honey!" each and every week, twice a week. According to her, massage and bodywork are why she's still around after the docs have counted her out twice.

If my clients choose to listen to their docs and not have massage, great. I have no qualms with that. It is the norm in my practice however, for my clients and their families to rely on touch to alleviate symptoms and discomforts more than they do meds, docs, etc. [That includes "benign" instances like hysterectomies, broken limbs, etc] I never stop them from asking their docs' opinions, but, I trust them to make the choice for themselves as to how they want their bodies handled and we go on from there. My clients are my greatest and continuing source of information on the illness and pathology front - meds, techniques, etc they willingly share them all. They are discussed, and that's that. They choose and I do what they want. That's why most of my clients have been with me for the majority of the 10 plus years I've been in practice - we all trust one another deeply and dearly and do nothing to harm that trust and faith in one another.

 

[Aiden]

I agree with you, I'd love to discuss it more because I still have questions, but it will drive this thread in a different direction so I'll either find similar thread or I'll start another, or just PM you.

 

[Krazy]

I agree with you, I'd love to discuss it more because I still have questions, but it will drive this thread in a different direction so I'll either find similar thread or I'll start another, or just PM you.

Please keep it on board, if you can! I'm enjoying eavesdropping, here!

 

[rythm of infinty]

Jillith,

I've gone back and re-read your last post. I understand your concerns w/ regard to cancer and the pathologies, etc. Each of the massage for cancer patient classes I have taken has offered pretty much the same advice - w/ or w/out regard to the pathology, do what the client needs you to do. They understand better than we do just how fast their cancers are and are not growing. Same goes for chemo, radiation, radioactive implants, etc. Their concerns and wishes are my guideposts, and so far the guideposts my clients are giving me are to go ahead and offer touch wherever and whenever they request it. Some days there is more energy work going on than massage, and other days the reverse is true. Whatever they want, they get.

My dearly departed client who knew she had ovarian cancer only 7 months before she died wanted nothing more than to have her whole body "lovingly caressed by someone who doesn't make me feel like she's afraid she'll catch it or that she'll break me in half...... .......just do what you do to make me feel like a person again so I can die with my dignity intact and know that I'm not repulsive to those around me." If I had paid attention to the pathologies, I wouldn't have touched her. Nor would I still be providing massage for my 2nd Mom because of her remission.... not with the virulent type cancer she had in her throat.....

Use your best judgement and put the love for humankind in your heart and hands and help them as best you can.

 

[pdq]

AnastaiaB-Does this mean that you would give massage if the client is on chemo or radiation with out a fear for your own health? I've read here before that the radiation can come through the skin and effect the MT.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Betty,

I operate on a no-fear basis pretty much all the time when it comes to cancer massage, and life in general for that matter. [Having had a near death experience will do that for you.] Thorough discussion w/ clients of their chemo meds, radiation treatments, etc and a good strong dose of compassion keeps me where I need to be and has thus far kept me strong and healthy.

Male clients have had radioactive pellets implanted for prostate cancer. They waited 2 or 3 days post implant to recieve massage so as to decrease the radioactive exposure to me just as they did when the slept in the same bed with their significant others. As one man put it, "Don't want you to get anything that will hurt you - I need you to help me get better!" I'm protected by them as much as I try to help them.

The single mom w/ the 12 yr old son recieved both chemo and radiation therapies. During 1 particular phase of her chemo she was getting some pretty dreadful chemicals that could have made me physically ill had I touched her directly after she recieved them. So, we waited a day or two and I worked on her. Yes, I did get a slightly gross and disgusting poison taste in my mouth from the skin oils, but, never did it directly make me ill, nor did it effect my energetic body negatively in any manner.

Another female client receiving radiation therapy asked very gingerly if I would please help her to decide which creams would be best for her to use on her very charred and dreadfully dry skin on her breast, chest wall and underarm. She didn't want to bother her husband with it - he was too stressed out at the thought that she might die to be of much compassionate assistance to her at that point. She was also taking some pretty high powered chemo crap that was making her puke her cookies about every 10 minutes. Sat there with her for 2 1/2 hours holding the bucket for her vomit, cleaning her face, wiping her tears, and energy testing the compounds she and her oncologist considered for her use before any work was ever done. Biohazard, chemo hazard, didn't matter.... she needed and got compassionate support.

Female and male clients who have received radiation therapies are particulary sensative to smells, the texture of the lotions/creams/oils, etc. Did I ever hesitate to provide the care that they sought from me, NO. I am blessed to have the best clientele in the world. They trust me implicitly to treat them as adult human beings with their own foibles, wishes, desires, and needs for treatment no matter the condition of their health. All of these individuals have clearly understood their particular situations, their particular needs in those instances and we have, on a case by case basis discussed thoroughly what they wanted, what I would be willing to provide, personal opinions [theirs and mine], etc. then treatment began.

Chemicals don't scare me. Taking precautions to cleanse my liver, and be as healthy as I personally can be in such situations is the best that I can do. I have been around individuals with everything from "soup to nuts" healthwise and none of it scares me or worries me to the point that I would prefer not to provide services for someone in need. That's the way I handle all of these cases. When you watch someone die inch by inch everyday at such an age as I did when a child, you learn to not really give a damn about the proper protocols that are socially imposed when people need your help. My health is important to me, but the compassion part is far more important than refusing treatment because of their chemicals, etc.

I'm no more careless with my health than these wonderful people have been with theirs.

Hope that answers your question.
J

 

[B.Lieve]

Betty,
Male clients have had radioactive pellets implanted for prostate cancer. They waited 2 or 3 days post implant to recieve massage so as to decrease the radioactive exposure to me just as they did when the slept in the same bed with their significant others. As one man put it, "Don't want you to get anything that will hurt you - I need you to help me get better!" I'm protected by them as much as I try to help them.

Not highjacking..and no need to reply to this...just giggle like I do.

I used to scrub on seed implants and the dosimetrist would whip out a GIGER counter(sp) at the end of the procedure. dit dit dit dit....dit it beeps along....didit....dit....dit...dit....I would do a pelvic thrust his way and ask him to "read" my ovaries...to make sure they didn't beep......sheesh!