Specialized Services

PALLIATIVE & HOSPICE SERVICES

Massage can offer moments of comfort and well-being at a challenging time for patients and their families.

  • Many people have preconceived notions about massage therapy that do not apply in a palliative/hospice setting. A massage table is rarely used. Patients receive massage wherever they are comfortable, typically a hospital bed, reclining chair, or wheelchair.

    The therapist will make suggestions regarding propping for comfort. The patient does not need to remove any clothing. A small amount of lotion will be applied to any area of the skin that can be accessed. Relief for dry, distressed skin is one of the primary goals of hospice massage.

  • Every person, regardless of how vulnerable or close to death they are, can receive some type of gentle touch.

    The therapist can provide safe, effective touch for people with advanced illness right up until the last moment of life. The work is so gentle that patients often sleep during the session.

    • The session will be provided wherever the patient is most comfortable

    • Massage over clothing or accessible skin

    • Focus on positioning and propping for patient comfort

    • Gentle massage pressure

    • The length of the session adjusted to the patient’s energy level

    • Avoidance of sensitive areas on the body

    • Decreased pain and anxiety

    • Decreased perception of shortness of breath

    • Improved sleep

    • Improved skin health

    • Improved digestion and elimination

    • Reduced isolation and fear

ONCOLOGY MASSAGE

  • Oncology massage is not a technique. Instead, it is a comprehensive approach that involves thorough assessment and adjustments by the massage therapist to standard massage modalities. These modifications are made in response to the side effects of treatment or complications from the cancer.

    There is always some form of touch therapy that can be safely provided. If a person is in treatment, the session might include a softer touch intended to help reconnect with the body in a kind, healing way. Later on, the session might involve a technique that focuses on an issue, such as a reduced range of motion due to surgery or radiation.

    Each oncology massage session is personalized to meet a client’s individual goals while adjusting to their unique and changing needs. Practitioners trained in this discipline understand the process of cancer, the short- and long-term side effects of treatments, and how those treatments can create physical and emotional complications.

    The changes that might be made to a massage can fall under any number of categories. Typically they will be related to the length of the session, pressure and direction of strokes, positioning, lymphedema risk, and areas of specific concern, such as catheters, incisions, or painful sites.

    Oncology massage can be a wonderful addition to a care plan, whether a person is in treatment, recovering, or using massage to maintain health years later.

  • Oncology Massage can change how it feels to live with a serious illness. By providing clinically reasoned and thoughtfully adapted massage, therapists nourish body, mind, and spirit to:

    • Improve quality of life

    • Reduce anxiety

    • Help with the management of pain

    • Improve quality of sleep

    • Reduce fatigue

    • Reduce unpleasant sensations from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN)

    • Increase function in areas affected by scar tissue resulting from surgery and radiation

    • Reduce post-surgical swelling and support rehabilitation and recovery

    • Support the lymph system and assist with lymphedema management

    • Improve body awareness and image

  • The intention of the standards of practice for preferred practitioners is to promote the safe, ethical, and appropriate application of massage therapy for those diagnosed with cancer.

    Preferred Practitioners demonstrate their commitment to competent and professional care by upholding these standards.