What is Oncology Massage?

For many individuals, living with cancer may feel like an indoctrination into a whole new world of facts, concepts, health care workers, and health care institutions, among other things. Often you are being asked to make choices that may or may not be clear and straightforward.
Oncology massage makes no demands on you.
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​Oncology massage is not a treatment but an avenue that provides you with an experience of caring touch that addresses symptoms of the cancer and/or side effects of the treatment such as fatigue, pain, nausea, hypersensitivity, tight and sore muscles, depression, and scar tissue. Oncology massage gives your body the opportunity to remember and feel pleasure, security, and calm.
​​"I was fortunate to meet Elisabeth Contadino several years after being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.  The massage and energy work I've received from Elisabeth over the past 10-plus years have contributed greatly to my quality of life and my physical and emotional health. She is a gifted practitioner who draws on a wide variety of modalities, invariably discovering what will help me in any given session."​​
​​- Cathy Hale, ​Client
If you are accustomed to a particular kind of massage, you may be wondering what oncology massage is. First of all, it is tailored to each individual at each session by giving carful attention to the client’s current state of health and treatment issues. Any contraindications that would endanger the client are identified and then the goals of the session decided upon.

For various safety and comfort reasons, it is common to make modifications in positioning, degree of pressure used, amount of movement introduced, and length of the session time. 
Being open to an alternate and pleasant experience of massage that includes modifications and precautions may have the added advantage of taking the focus off of life’s restrictions and constrictions brought on by cancer.
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  • Sometimes massage is done through clothes and even bed linens.
  • The whole body or just a part may be massaged.
  • The session may take place at my office, the client’s home, in a hospital, or rehabilitation facility.