Crazy World

My business partner and I just hosted a three-day massage continuing education workshop centered around safely and heart-centeredly massaging people with cancer. Cancer patients don't get much touch, and when they do, it's generally of the variety of "oh, my god! I don't want to catch that!", or "I have to keep my distance and be very careful or I might break them!"

Neither of these things is true.

In massage school I was taught never to professionally touch a patient with cancer. We could "spread the cancer" or somehow contribute to the metastasis process.

Bullshit.

If cancer patients are walking around, breathing, playing golf, swimming, walking, they're doing far more potential "spreading" of cancer than I ever could in a simple massage.

Metastasis and invasion are their own biochemical processes, unaffected by physical manipulations. For metaststic cells to detach, travel and re-adhere, there must be very specific biochemical events in action. And this happens all the time in most people. But for most of us, our immune systems take care of it. For a few cases out of millions, mutated cells develop the ability to detach, reattach, and also to create a blood supply, also known as angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the key from turning a clump of cancerous cells into a malignant tumor. If the cancerous cells can't create their own blood supply, they simply die off from starvation.

None of this has anything to do with massage.

So, contrary to what most massage students are taught, every person who is undergoing treatment, who has cancer, and/or who has survived may be safely touched and massaged by someone who knows what the cautions apply.

The big cautions turn out to be risk of lymphedema from removed or compromised (i.e. irradiated) lymphatic nodes in neck, armpits (axilla) and groin. Massage therapists who know how to work around these damaged interstitial cellular drains can do a hell of a lot of good, and can avoid harming their patients.

I posted these clips from one of my favorite movies because this weekend has been an utter rollercoaster of emotions. To simply touch these people who have only had clinical touch for so long, and to know that you're being safe with them, is pure joy. To confront my fears around doing so has been incredibly healing. I took this class last January when we hosted it here for the first time, and I had the luxury of just sitting in on it this weekend to review and be the gopher for the teacher, and that was absolutely a wonderful thing. To re-hear and re-experience this information firsthand from the source, the pioneering massage therapist who literally wrote the book on massaging people with cancer, has been a true joy. This woman has been a pioneer in the field of oncology massage for about 15 years now, and does many, many seminars all over the US and the world. She also has a hospital oncology course where four massage therapists spend a week massaging patients in a hospital undergoing cancer treatment, be it chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, or a combination of any of those.

A former massage student of mine took this course last year and said it transformed her life. I believe her, for this simple three-day course has transformed mine in ways I've only begun to understand. It completely cracked me open, once again. I've spent the weekend leaking tears about things I haven't thought about in years. And marveling at the wonder and beauty of everything. And joyous at the persistence and hardiness of us mortals.

Today's clinic, where all 19 massage therapists worked on actual cancer patients and survivors was just magical. These professionals rose to the challenge and did their work with care, patience, and total applomb. I was completely awed. And thankful, and connected to them all.

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