MARYSVILLE — Some people like to pamper themselves with a massage now and then, but when they get cancer they are so busy fighting the disease that they forget to try to relax and enjoy life.
Kristi Gordon of Heavenly Hands in Marysville says that’s when people really need a massage. Gordon says that massage can help for seven reasons:
Provides emotional support by reducing anxiety and depression.
Enhances body image.
Relieves symptoms of distress, nausea, vomiting, pain and suffering.
Provides comfort and positive sensations by easing muscle tension, and promoting sleep and relaxation.
Supports immunity.
Contributes to quality of life and well-being.
Supports caregivers.
Gordon finds it rewarding to work with cancer patients. “I love the opportunity to give a soothing, nurturing touch,” she said.
She recalled one patient who complimented her on the way she held her head. “I remember a tear running down my cheek and a sadness,” Gordon said.
Gordon, who spent time as a hospice volunteer, said anyone can hold their hand and let them know you’re there for them. “I am blessed to be part of their journey,” she said.
When working with a cancer patient, she finds out as much information as possible to help know what to do and what not to do. It can change from visit to visit. She recalled one patient who on paper was very healthy. She bicycled three miles a day and had no side effects to her treatment. Gordon had planned to do a regular massage.
But when the patient came into the clinic her fatigue level was high and her pain had increased. She was no longer riding a bike.
“The massage had to be modified in pressure and site, and position restrictions were needed,” Gordon said.
She has been working with cancer patients since she was in massage school. She was told she couldn’t work on cancer patients until they were five years cancer-free. But she was allowed to work on her grandma, “because she probably wouldn’t sue,” Gordon quoted the school as saying.
She later learned that with proper training there is not an issue with giving a cancer patient a massage. “We ask them questions and keep asking questions,” she said.
Of her grandma, Gordon said the massages brought them closer. “She’s 98 now. It was her first massage,” Gordon said, adding in grandma’s day it was a luxury to get a massage, not a medical thing. The massages continued throughout her cancer treatment, and she “felt better,” Gordon said.
The questioning of cancer patients includes talking with their oncologists. Gordon has to find out if there are certain touches she should not do or if the patient has sensitive skin so lotions should not be used.
Also, the person with cancer may not be the one who needs the massage at all. Gordon recalled one patient who was on hospice. He wanted his wife to receive the massage instead.
“She fell asleep a couple of times,” Gordon said. “He wanted that for her, to relax.”
Gordon said she helps cancer patients become whole.
“They are one with their body again. That part acted against them,” she said. “I help them reconnect with themselves.”
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