Massage Therapy Journal Summer 2025

Summer 2025 • 19

in his body, and all his resources (physical, emotional and financial) could only flow into his cancer treatment. In addition, as a person of color in the U.S., Byron already had many experiences of being ignored, mistreated and dismissed by medical professionals. As a result, he found it difficult to trust the system to care for him. What followed for Byron was a period of significant depression as he struggled in the face of his diagnosis. For Byron, a cancer diagnosis included cancer-related distress. Cancer-related distress affects almost every person diagnosed with cancer at some level, with about 40% of patients reporting “notable distress,” 5 which is defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network as “a multifactorial unpleasant experience of a psychological (i.e., cognitive, behavioral, emotional), social, spiritual and/or physical nature that may interfere with one’s ability to cope effectively with cancer, its physical symptoms, and its treatment .” 5 Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent mental health challenges that accompany distress. Patients report the most frequent sources of cancer-related distress as worry (55%), fatigue (54%), fears (45%), sadness (44%), pain (41%) and sleep disturbance (40%). 6 Distress can appear in anyone faced with a cancer diagnosis, and it is important to note that social factors can serve to increase or mitigate the experience of cancer-related distress. For example, distress is often associated with lower income or lack of access to health insurance. Working with people who are in or have been through cancer treatment requires training beyond our foundational education. Oncology Massage training of at least 24 hours is the minimum standard. In Oncology Massage training, we learn to understand more about the disease of cancer itself, as well as develop and practice the clinical reasoning skills we need to adapt a massage for the effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Without this training, we run the risk of causing both immediate and lasting harm and, as important, we miss the opportunity to be of specific and valuable service to the people we touch.

Beyond the hands-on adaptations and technical knowledge, we also need deep self-reflection and emotional regulation skills when working with people affected by serious illness. As humans, we may have personal experience with cancer or with caring for a loved one during their treatment. That does not qualify us to provide safe, accurate massage therapy for someone affected by that illness. We all have our own fears and assumptions about illness. We must remain aware of the history that we carry into the treatment room. Our challenge becomes remaining curious and open in the face of whatever shows up in our space, even if it “looks like” something we think we know. With the proper education, there is much we can do to improve the day-to-day quality of life for people faced with a cancer diagnosis. The ways in which massage therapy may help cancer patients experiencing distress include: • Reduce anxiety and depression: reductions of anxiety and depression are massage therapy’s most commonly reported effects, with a course of treatment providing benefits similar in magnitude to those of psychotherapy. 6 • Improve the reciprocal relationship between body and mind: massage therapy can link changes in the tissue to changes in the recipient’s cognitive self-awareness. 6 As a nervous system-based intervention, massage can help recipients reconnect their body into a whole. • Address pain and other symptoms: Massage therapy can be an effective treatment for pain, 6 but can also reduce fatigue, stress, anxiety and nausea. 6 Autoimmune Conditions: The Invisible Cost Roughly 1 in 15 people in the U.S. has an autoimmune disease. It’s no surprise that, with more than 100 identified autoimmune diseases, these diagnoses cover the spectrum

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