Oncology Massage Clinics

The “clinic” or “Oncology Massage Community Service Day” is, as our welcome letter to clients says, a place

“ . . . where professional Oncology Massage Therapists volunteer their time
to offer complimentary massage to people who are recovering from
or who are in treatment for cancer”.

We hold these community service days to provide no-cost oncology massages by appointment. The appointments are filled up to two months in advance, and we give priority to clients who are currently undergoing medical treatment (chemotherapy or radiation). The clinic is held in a home-like setting with the understanding that clients have most likely had enough of the institutional clinical medical atmosphere. We want them to perceive this as a safe nurturing environment.

In the beginning:

We began as a group of five practicing Oncology Massage Therapists, all graduates of Isabel Adkins’* trainings. We met to share information, techniques, stories and to give each other support for the deep emotional experiences of working with cancer patients. And we met to start a free oncology massage clinic.

Structure ~ professional experienced Oncology Massage Therapists (with a minimum of 80 hours of Isabel Adkins’ oncology massage training - on top of their original bodywork certification - and additional supervised oncology massage experience) offering free massages to people experiencing cancer and its treatments

Approach ~ heart-centered, nurturing, therapeutic (symptom relieving and immunity building) massage sessions in a homelike atmosphere. It is an approach that honors the therapists’ time and energy as well as the clients’ needs.

Formalities ~ guidelines (such as no scents, compassionate professionalism, donation policies: accepted but not expected), forms (welcome letter, consent form, initial intake, subsequent visit intake, site restriction drawing, and massage plan), and follow-up procedures (call client the next day).

Success and Growth:

Initiated in January 2006, the Grass Valley community service day (hosted by the Sierra Center for Oncology Massage and managed by Nicki Hansen-Dix) has been successfully operating twice a month since then. More of Isabel Adkins’ graduates have joined us along the way as volunteers and with these additional therapists we have been able to expand the services. After about seven months of operation, because of all the groundwork we had already accomplished by creating the original clinic and lessons learned in that process, we easily replicated our services with a sister clinic in Sacramento. That center is hosted by the Center for Cancer Spirit Healing and managed by Connie Kishbaugh. The structure, approach and formalities are consistent in both clinics, although tweaked to fit each location and host. The Sacramento clinic offers several additional days per month for oncology clients.

The two clinics now have eleven volunteer therapists and see at least three times as many clients as when we began in January 2006. The therapists for both centers get together and meet regularly to share stories, information and support.

*All of the massage therapists who volunteer in these centers received their oncology massage training from Isabel Adkins. These clinics would not exist were it not for her dedication to the field, her inspirational teaching, and her example of Presence which unfolds when she works with cancer patients.

©2007 Sierra Center for Oncology Massage