AMTA Endorses Massage for Patients with Cancer

The art is beneficial in countless ways for patients fighting for their health and lives

A recent article on the American Massage Therapy Association’s (AMTA) website expanded upon the idea of massage for patients fighting cancer, outlining the many potential benefits. 

According to statistics, about 1.75 million people were diagnosed with cancer in the year 2018, and approximately two-thirds will eventually survive. 

“Traditional treatments like surgery, radiation and chemotherapy have had great success,” read the article, “but sometimes with crippling side effects that make the disease even more physically and emotionally taxing.”

But advancing research is helping professionals patients to understand the critical role massage plays in the recovery process, through not only stress relief but the alleviation of symptoms ranging from nausea to all others types of pain.

“We have really good data now showing that a lot of these integrative therapies can be used to manage symptoms or side effects. We still need to do more research to understand how these therapies affect survival,” said Heather Greenlee, ND, Ph.D., medical director of Integrative Medicine at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

An Emory University School of Medicine study demonstrated that a six-week program of Swedish Massage reduced pain for patients with cancer significantly, a leading indicator of how symptoms can be alleviated or reduced.

SOURCE: AMTA