| Mesothelioma and Massage Therapy |
Therapeutic Massage and Palliative Cancer Therapy
Jack Bleeker
August 7, 2009
In recent years the role of alternative therapies in cancer care has transformed
the way many patients cope with illness and related side effects. Older
paradigms suggest that cancer can only be effectively treated with traditional
treatments such as surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Those who refuse this notion seek alternative therapies outside of their
treatment regimen to experience relaxation as well as an ease in side-effects
associated with traditional treatment regimens, including those caused by
chemotherapy drugs.
Today, not only patients but also the medical establishment recognizes the
importance of alternative therapies, and particularly the importance of
massage therapy in comprehensive cancer care. Massage, like most
alternative cancer therapies, is most effective when used in conjunction with
traditional treatments.
Therapeutic massage is unique in that it remedies the feeling of isolation
which is experienced by many people who battle a difficult disease. The
human contact that massage therapy soothes the psychological stresses that
cancer patients endure such as feelings of being overwhelmed by the nature
of their diagnosis, family implications, and other difficulties associated with
cancer treatments.
Often, the most valuable treatments to patients battling a difficult diagnosis
are those that allow the patient to be as comfortable and relaxed as possible.
Patients battling aggressive cancers, such as mesothelioma, often forgo
traditional treatments which will put their body through a great deal of stress
and discomfort in favor of those such as massage, which provide peace of
mind and comfort. Patients undergoing traditional treatments such as
chemotherapy often find that therapies that are able to relax their mind and
body, will dramatically lessen side effects like nausea, restlessness, and fever.
As with any treatment, the benefits of massage therapy are to be determined
on a case by case circumstance. However, given the positive experience
many patients have experienced, it is certainly worth exploring. Maximizing
your cancer therapies with cooperation between patient, family, and physician
will encourage patients to live healthy and comfortably, which is the goal of
all comprehensive therapies.
Jack Bleeker
August 7, 2009
In recent years the role of alternative therapies in cancer care has transformed
the way many patients cope with illness and related side effects. Older
paradigms suggest that cancer can only be effectively treated with traditional
treatments such as surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Those who refuse this notion seek alternative therapies outside of their
treatment regimen to experience relaxation as well as an ease in side-effects
associated with traditional treatment regimens, including those caused by
chemotherapy drugs.
Today, not only patients but also the medical establishment recognizes the
importance of alternative therapies, and particularly the importance of
massage therapy in comprehensive cancer care. Massage, like most
alternative cancer therapies, is most effective when used in conjunction with
traditional treatments.
Therapeutic massage is unique in that it remedies the feeling of isolation
which is experienced by many people who battle a difficult disease. The
human contact that massage therapy soothes the psychological stresses that
cancer patients endure such as feelings of being overwhelmed by the nature
of their diagnosis, family implications, and other difficulties associated with
cancer treatments.
Often, the most valuable treatments to patients battling a difficult diagnosis
are those that allow the patient to be as comfortable and relaxed as possible.
Patients battling aggressive cancers, such as mesothelioma, often forgo
traditional treatments which will put their body through a great deal of stress
and discomfort in favor of those such as massage, which provide peace of
mind and comfort. Patients undergoing traditional treatments such as
chemotherapy often find that therapies that are able to relax their mind and
body, will dramatically lessen side effects like nausea, restlessness, and fever.
As with any treatment, the benefits of massage therapy are to be determined
on a case by case circumstance. However, given the positive experience
many patients have experienced, it is certainly worth exploring. Maximizing
your cancer therapies with cooperation between patient, family, and physician
will encourage patients to live healthy and comfortably, which is the goal of
all comprehensive therapies.
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