Tracie and Deb - Oncology Massage Limited (OML)... ·...
Transcript of Tracie and Deb - Oncology Massage Limited (OML)... ·...
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To glove or not to glove? By Deb Hart and Tracie Oliveri During our OM1 course we talk about the benefits of massage provided as close as possible to the day of infusion of chemotherapy. Through anecdotes from therapists and clients we think that this may alter the side effects of chemotherapy and possibly improve blood results. Many chemotherapeutic drugs are processed by the patient and once they have performed their task are expelled by way of the normal channels of elimination through urine, faeces and the skin. Facilitators in OM1 courses also discuss the need to use gloves when massaging clients within a few days of infusion to avoid the risk of side effects to the therapist. In Medicine Hands, our recommended reading for OM1, Gayle MacDonald recommends the use of gloves for at least 72 hours following IV chemotherapy and gloves as standard practice for clients that are taking oral chemotherapy. If in a medical setting she recommends gloves for use on all patients whether they are taking chemotherapy or not as there is heightened risk infection from antibiotic resistant bacteria, fungal infections and unseen dried bodily fluids. If gloves are available at an OM1, one of my favourite practical activities is to have therapists use a glove on one hand and not on the other during swapping of massage technique prac sessions. To everyone’s surprise there is rarely a ‘client’ that notices! We as therapists are the ones that perceive the gloves as being a barrier, not our clients. If our clients do see that we are using gloves and are then assured that there is an OH&S aspect involved to protect both of us they are less likely to feel short changed on their massage experience.
This letter below highlighted to me the ease at which we as therapists accept the risks to our own wellbeing to be sure to enhance the experience to the client. My sincere thanks to Tracie, for putting her experience in this letter for us to share with all of you to highlight the need to please look after yourselves first. Hi Deb, I wanted to share a story with you and your readers about a couple of experiences I have had whilst working on clients who were undergoing chemotherapy.
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I have been volunteering for the past few weeks giving oncology massage to clients who have either just been diagnosed with cancer, having chemotherapy treatment, at the end of treatment or about to undergo radiotherapy after surgery. I have been a massage therapist and massage therapy lecturer for many years and love my profession. I feel it is a privilege to be a massage therapist as it is such a healing experience for most people. I am not an advocate of wearing gloves while massaging (I’m sure most therapists feel the same) as I believe it puts a barrier up between my healing hands and my client. On my first day volunteering I carried out the OM1 oncology routine on three clients one of which had undergone chemotherapy the previous day. I loved the experience of all three clients. It was a welcome change from teaching and is such a gentle and healing massage, not to mention humbling. That night I noticed that night I had nightmares... Vivid, lucid nightmares, the type where you wake up terrified and sweating. I put this down to my new environment and working on clients with different needs and wants and my subconscious processing this information. The second day of volunteering (a week later) my first two clients had not undergone chemotherapy but my third client had had chemotherapy, again, the day before (not the same client as my first week). My client was clearly in need of a healing touch, she was frail, fatigued, stressed and said she felt nauseated. We both agreed that we would start slow. We would massage the front of her legs and would see how she felt to ascertain if we would go any further. Around 10 minutes into the massage I noticed I began to feel a little unwell (I must add at this point that I have the constitution of an ox and do not recall the last time I had felt unwell or had any type of virus and have never had a sick day from work in the past 10 years of teaching). Needless to say, I was taken aback by feelings of extreme nausea, headache, dizziness, hot and cold flushes, I was clammy and feeling faint. I kept it together completing her second leg and convinced her that we should leave the massage for that day and re-‐book her for the following week. As I left my client to get dressed and relax after her treatment I ran to the closest toilet and vomited. I felt exhausted, drained of energy and positively green. I ran back to the treatment room in time for to re-‐book my client back in with a weary smile. The physical symptoms I felt after that client only lasted a couple of hours. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a bug I picked up.
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I spoke to Deb Hart about what I had experienced and asked if it was normal as I thought that I may have picked up on energy that the client may have transferred to me through the treatment. Deb immediately asked if I had worn gloves on the clients that I had had reactions with and of course I had not. Deb explained that some of the chemotherapy drugs work their way through the skin via sweat pores and hair follicles and that I had most likely picked up some of the chemicals from the clients. I have learned a valuable lesson in this... ALWAYS wear gloves within a minimum of 72 hours after a client has had chemotherapy as a standard precaution. Our protection as massage therapist should always be paramount in any treatment and oncology massage is no different. Thanks Deb for your ongoing support and wealth of knowledge. I am very excited about attending the OM2 course to learn more about this wonderful, healing modality. Tracie Oliveri