These are the current national standards for certification as a massage therapist:
What does it take to become nationally certified?
To become certified, a massage therapist or bodyworker must:
- Complete a minimum of 500 hours of instruction
- Demonstrate mastery of core skills, abilities and knowledge
- Pass a standardized NCBTMB exam
- Uphold NCBTMB’s Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics
The 500 hours of instruction must include:
- 125 hours of body systems, anatomy, physiology and kinesiology
- 200 hours of massage and bodywork assessment, theory and application
- 40 hours of pathology
- 10 hours of business and ethics (minimum of 6 hours in ethics)
- 125 hours of additional instruction in an area or related field that theoretically completes the massage program of study (back)
Oncology massage is not a standard for national certification. It is an area of additional training being considered in advanced certification. Testing for advanced certification on a national level was not implemented until 2010.
Massage Envy hires entry level Certified Massage Practitioners as low as 200 to 250 hours of training. This is massage for the masses - not specifically for cancer patients or survivors.
If you want to be sure to receive a massage from a professional who understands the precautions of working with cancer survivors then inquire if they have taken additional training on oncology massage.
Just like the medical field - oncology is a specialty, not practiced by every physician or licensed massage therapist.
I am hoping to specialize in oncology massage and appreciate Jessica's spirited opinions, however massage therapy is still a relatively new field and has worked to overcome some negative associations with the world's oldest profession. The more I dig in to contraindications of massage with cancer, the more I find I haven't considered.
On the flip side, I did a report on the benefits of massage for cancer patients for a class. The most encouraging information was the increase in activity of NK cells in the immune system after light effluerage. I look forward to a future where massage is offered during chemotherapy - Sweden, as usual, leds the way in these studies.