Healing touch: patients with cancer receive massage therapy

The healing touch of massage therapy is now available to patients hospitalized at Baptist Hospital East who are diagnosed with cancer.

Baptist Hospital East's cancer program is very comprehensive, offering services from radiation and chemotherapy to clinical trials.

The soothing sensation of massage helps people feel better, whether or not they are sick. For persons with cancer, massage can help reduce stress, anxiety and pain.

Massage therapy is a very personal relationship. At Baptist Hospital East, it is offered to patients diagnosed with cancer, if recommended by the treatment team and ordered by the physician. The service is a gift, paid for from Oncology Fund contributions made by the hospital's Auxiliary, former patients, their families and friends.

As a complementary therapy or non-medical treatment, massage is used along with conventional medical treatments to "complement" other treatments -- helping to control symptoms or side effects plus enhance comfort and the patient's sense of well-being. There is evidence that massage can stimulate nerves, increase blood flow and the supply of oxygen to cells and help circulation of the lymph system.

Although some specific types of massage therapy may not be helpful for certain cancer patients, skilled touch can be beneficial for most patients. Most patients are considered candidates for massage therapy. Certain medical conditions may exclude a patient from receiving therapeutic massage.

The massage therapists who assist patients are skilled professionals who completed a recognized program of massage therapy and passed appropriate certification exams.

Massage therapists work closely with the nursing staff and physicians to provide the most appropriate care for each patient. Massage therapy is administered in the privacy of a patient's room.

Massage therapy is the first of many complementary therapies to be offered by the Cancer Center at Baptist East, in keeping with the staff's commitment to provide exceptional and compassionate patient care.