Massage Therapist Provides Relief for Cancer Patients

When Karen Cahill’s husband Mike, a retired fire chief, was diagnosed with parotid gland cancer just over five years ago, he did what many people who are facing life-threatening illnesses do -- he withdrew. 

Cahill, 52, wanted to find a way to support him through his treatments; She literally wanted to touch him.

This desire became a career change when Cahill discovered oncology massage, a relatively new therapeutic technique, now being adopted by more and more clinics and practitioners on the West Coast. 

Oncology massage is gentle touch therapy that’s adapted to be safe for cancer patients. There is no hard pressure work, or attempt to "move" toxins about the body. 

Instead, the treatment focuses on relaxation and relieving symptoms and stress so  the body can do what it needs to do: heal.  

“Our body is amazing,” says Cahill, “it knows what to do to heal itself but sometimes we forget how much energy we’re allocating to managing the stress of a disease like cancer. If I can remove some of that stress through massage then the body can be more focused on fighting the disease.”

Cahill, a founding member of the Society for Oncology Massage, entered the profession in its infancy. She completed her oncology massage training program (requiring 300 hours of specific training) at the Massage Therapy Institute in Davis California, back when it was one of three schools in the US that offered the discipline.

The training program focused on cancer. She studied many forms of cancer to learn how the disease behaves in the body and how the body responds to invasive treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. She learned massage techniques specifically adapted to be safe for people with cancer.

Oncology massage is an established form of treatment on the East Coast, where even large hospitals, such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Cancer Institute, have developed programs.

But in California, according to Cahill, "it’s just getting started out here."

There's a naturally occuring gender divide in patients: According to Cahill, more women than men gravitate towards the treatment, especially women with breast cancer. 

“Women can talk more openly about their bodies.  Men, especially those with prostate cancer, don’t want to share.  They still don’t have a language to talk about something that personal," she said.

An important part of her job is listening, says Cahill, because many cancer patients dont't want to burden friends and family and instead bottle up their worries. 

“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, there are people who show up and people who fall off the face of the earth. People don’t know what to do or say," she said.

One of Cahill’s clients, a woman recovering from breast cancer who asked that her name not be used, describes the experience as a game changer: 

“After the massage I felt a strong sense of integration like I was celebrating my whole self, connecting my mind, body and spirit.  I wish I had had the oncology massage while I was undergoing radiation treatment instead of waiting until I was finished. It would have complemented my healing process."

Cahill’s massage studio, Chestnut Hill Retreat, is located through a private entrance in her home in Sonoma, but she'll also make house calls, if clients prefer.

The treatments begin with clients on their back, so Cahill can closely observe their reactions to her touch.  Using acupressure and reflexology, a technique of applying pressure to zones in the feet and hands that correspond with organs in the body, she says she can influence the health and well-being of the body, without relying on traditional massage methods, which can further fatigue an already-stressed system.

But for Cahill, it's her clients reaction that makes her practice a labor of love.

"I see people come in fatigued, at their wit’s end, and wondering how they’ll get through the day," said Cahill. "I love that after their massage they have pink in their cheeks and are excited that they’re going to be able to go shopping with their daughter that afternoon."

Karen Cahill lives with her husband Mike, a thriving cancer survivor, in Sonoma.

To book a treatment, or learn more, contact Cahill  at 707-849-8062 or chestnuthillretreat@comcast.net. She offers oncology massage, on a sliding scale payment.