Denied a massage because of my cancer...

jml · 12-27-2011, 10:53 AM

Hi Friends~

Any one else experience this ridiculous discrimination at the hands of an ignorant, arrogant, naive massage therapist?
Unfortunately this is the 2nd time this has happened - the 1st was in casual conversation with an acquaintance that is a massage therapist (who I have steered clear of for many years ever since), but this 2nd time was @Massage Envy Spa in Hermosa Beach, CA - a franchise of a huge national corporation.
Here's the back story:
My sister from San Fran & I are enjoying the Christmas holidays with our other sister and her family in Hermosa Beach. Up until this point, we were having a grand time and thought we'd squeeze in a massage and facial, for a little relaxation and pampering.
We are both members of Massage Envy in our respective cities, and I will say the folks in the Atlanta location have always been really great. Always helpful when I tore my pec in my reconstructed side, which continues to get really tight and rigid when I exercise & don't stretch enough and also not afraid to do my massage, even when I had a palpable supraclav node.
So we go in a little early for our appointments to fill out paperwork, and as I'm writing the details of my health history, I'm already anticipating having to do a lot of explaining and reassuring that it's okay for me to have massage while on treatment, I've been on/off treatment x10yrs, blahblahblah. I even consider just NOT saying anything. So in the interest of full disclosure, in the line to list "medications", I started to just write "Multi Vitamin" and leave it at that, but I did include "chemotherapy".
Initially the front desk/sales assoc who reviewed my paperwork said that she didn't think I could have the facial bc they feared there might be some negative chemical reaction with their Murad products & my chemo. I told her that I was surprised by that because I've been dealing with this disease for nearly a decade and am pretty well versed it what treatments are contraindicated for me, etc. I'm told, "It's our policy." And she says the massage is questionable too, but she would talk ask the LMT.
We were taken back to the "Relaxation Lounge" to wait, when the 3 -front desk person, massage therapist, aesthetician - come in and the massage therapist says she can't do my massage because (I'm paraphrasing) she doesn't 'want to make me sicker by pushing the cancer around, possibly to my lungs & brain and giving me lung and brain the cancer'.
WHAAAT???
(i shouldn't have been so surprised bc this is the same blathering nonsense that the 1st massage therapist said to me in conversation years ago.)
I told them that that is impossible and there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support that she can influence disease progression with massage, and she, the LMT, says "I know what I can do."
So now her ARROGANCE is even more irritating than her simple ignorance. So we exchange a few more words and them I'm told again, "It's our policy."
My sister grabs my arm and says "Let's go..." and drags me out of there because I was about to LAUNCH! She said that she just wanted to get me out the way of all the evil stupidity!
So we walked out, but I quickly turned around and went back in to get names of the Manger and Franchise Owner.And the front desk girl just kept saying, "I'm so sorry. It's our policy. My grandmother had BC."
I said, "Fine, your policy is your policy and I'm not arguing with that, but what your LMT is saying is completely inaccurate and unfounded and it only makes her sound ridiculous and ignorant."
I asked about their on-going education and was told "Oh we just had more of that," but she couldn't identify who did the training, couldn't tell me the Manager's last name or the Franchise Owner. When I called back to get the name of the 2 therapists & speak with the manager, the same front desk girl said "he's out" and that "he comes & goes" so she didn't know when he would be back.
Basically I got the major run around!
I do understand that we were dealing with 3 young women, who are infinitely ignorant, not only about customer service but also about the fields that they are LICENSED to practice, and that is ultimately what I have the greatest issue.
As "licensed professionals" they have a responsiblity to provide safe, knowledgeable services and if they can't do that, they shouldn't be practicing at all.
The corporation, Massage Envy, does not have a disclaimer on their website, consent paperwork, etc that states "their policy" regarding refusing treatment to people under going cancer care/chemotherapy. I think the front desk girl just thought her best strategy was to hide behind the "It's our policy" statment.
My sister posted a review on YELP for the Massage Envy Spa-Hermosa Beach location, telling of our experience, I've posted on my personal FB page and I posted on the Massage Envy -HB page that I was denied services bc of my cancer.
I've also sent an inquiry to the California licensing board for Massage Therapy to ask what the standards of their education & testing are regarding cancer tx & massage, and a friend has sent an inquiry to the corporate hq of Massage Envy to ask what their corporate policy is regarding providing/denying services to cancer patients.
While I hold the silly ignorant LMTresponsible only for her own lack of knowlege, I do hold Massage Envy, the corporation, responsible to setting a standard for ALL of their therapists - massage & aestheticians - to be appropriately educated about the benefits of their services but more importantly if/how/why their services could or would be contraindicated and even dangerous to potential clients. It should be included on their websites and in their consent paperwork.
I've also sent an inquiry to Murad, the skincare company that provides Massage Envy with all their facial products, to ask about the safety of their products with patients in treatment of cancer.
As you can see, I'm not done with this by any means!
I've been doing some searching around and reading articles about massage and cancer, and they all say that this archaic belief that massage manipulates blood flow and lymph dynamic to the extent of influencing disease progression & metastasis is unfounded, but I guess the LMT from Massage Envy HB must have been asleep that day in class when they were reviewing disease processes!
Sorry such a long story, but I thought you'd get a kick out of it. I'm sure some of you may have encountered the same silliness.
I really want to put an end to this ignorance and am looking to make a pretty big splash with this, hopefully changing the corporate policy for all Massage Envy locations and even within their industry to get all LMT appropriately educated about the truth and reality of massage and cancer.
Is that too much to ask?
And all I really wanted yesterday was a little relaxation & pampering...

Keep the Faith~

Jml

Jackie07 · 12-27-2011, 04:53 PM

Jessica,

I'm sorry that you've had such unpleasant experience. Below is an abstract of an article related to massage therapy and cancer patient. It's possible that the facility you were denied service did not have a trained staff who are qualified to work with cancer patients.

It's human nature (though not 'business sense') for them to hide their deficiency (not having a qualified staff on hand) Frankly (with my brain tumor history) I would not use anyone except an experienced physical therapist:

J Soc Integr Oncol. 2007 Fall;5(4):163-6.
Training massage therapists to work in oncology.

Miner W.
Source

Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.

Abstract

Professional massage therapists (MTs) require specialized training to work safely and effectively with cancer patients and to prepare them for their role in multidisciplinary clinical settings. This article describes "Medical Massage for the Cancer Patient," a certificate course offered to achieve those goals by the Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

MTs are taught the clinical, logistic, and legal requirements; the basic details of cancer and cancer treatments; necessary massage adaptations; and what will be required of them as members of a health care team. The core competencies this training program aims to impart, and the program developed to reach them, are outlined here. Specific training by a credible oncology team is required prior to any hands-on work with cancer patients.

karen z · 12-27-2011, 07:11 PM

Jackie,
Thanks for the post.
Karen

Laurel · 12-27-2011, 07:59 PM

Love the fire in the belly, Girl! You get the unenlightened b3@t%*ds! I am truly sorry for your unpleasant experience but I gotta tell ya it makes me feel better to know there are other firey women in the world. Thanks for fighting the good fight on our behalf.

Now go get a massage and relax (back in civilized Atlanta). Dang neanderthals....

rhondalea · 12-27-2011, 08:01 PM

This is a little older (2005), but it might be useful:

http://www.moffitt.org/CCJRoot/v12n3/PDF/158.pdf

The link is to a PDF on the Moffitt Cancer Center website. The author, Lisa Corbin, MD, is the Medical Director of Integrative Medicine and an associate professor at the University of Colorado Hospital.

12-28-2011, 11:18 AM

go get the girl, i would do the same thing, i bet by the time you are done with this YOU WILL HAVE CHANGE THE SYSTEM !!!

NanaJoni · 12-28-2011, 11:34 AM

I've had wonerful, kind and excellent massage therapy through my chiropractor's office here in my home town in East TN. Never a question about chemo or the ridiculous idea of "pushing the cancer around". The LMT was so thoughtful of my early sensitivty (physical and emotional) re the surgical scarring. So sorry for your bad experience and applause for your gutsy reaction to such ignorance.

alicem · 01-03-2012, 09:02 PM

This is CRAZY!!!

We have a group on oncology massage therapists that give free massages to cancer patients in Austin:

http://www.oncologymassagealliance.org/

Unfortunately, they started this AFTER I was finished with my treatments!

CoolBreeze · 01-03-2012, 09:37 PM

I'm so sorry you were denied the relaxation you wanted, and that their reasoning was BS.

However, there have been instances of women with cancer getting chiropractic adjustments and massage and ending up with broken spines. If you have bone mets, especially unknown mets, it's possible that your bones can be very brittle and and person who doesn't know what they are doing can hurt someone. Oncologists don't recommend chiropractic adjustments or vigorous massage for some women with bone mets.

Massage might be taking it too far, but frankly, in this litigious day and age, I might implement the same policy as a Salom owner. before you start trying to ruin their reputation, you might talk to the owner and make sure they get some education.

I sure would have my therapists know what the policy was and be able to explain it. And, it wouldn't be a general "anybody on chemo" although some people believe that massage moves energy and might blame the spread of mets on a salon.

Everybody wants to sue everybody and while they went overboard, I can sort of understand it.

'lizbeth · 01-03-2012, 09:48 PM

Jessica,

I see that you are on Herceptin from an earlier post today. I would have a serious discussion with my oncologist about the type of massage that would be indicated or contraindicated.

Many of our treatment choices are with drugs that are cardiotoxic, Herceptin, Adriamycin, etc. We cancer survivors go through regular Muga scans during Herceptin to check the function of our LVEF. If the function of the left ventricle of the heart is compromised, moving lymph fluids and blood back to the heart with circulatory massage could be a contraindication. Having LMTs inexperienced with cancer providing massage concerns me. Expecting massage as a stage IV cancer survivor without a doctor's release and oversight - why risk it?

I hear your anger, and yet am personally am offended by the comments you made about the staff at Massage Envy. Yes, they don't have a full understanding of massage and cancer.

I can tell you that at the school I attend there is a 3 month course on working with cancer survivors. The Physiology Pathology books have about 1000 pages of information. Massage therapists are not doctors - and the expectation for a massage therapist to have expertise in every medical condition with 250 to 1000 hours of training seems unrealistic to me.

I heartily endorse massage for cancer patients & survivors. And I applaud you for finding a massage therapist that helps you on your journey of healing.

I just ask you to step back and channel your anger into a more helpful emotion. Is there a more positive way that we cancer survivors can all work together to develop a method of educating massage therapists on the benefits and cautions that are specific to our cancer experience?

snolan · 01-04-2012, 12:10 PM

You ran into a LMT that has a very generally training back ground. As a Physical Therapist Assistant who teaches at a college that has a Massage Therapy program, I can tell you that their training is very limited at that level. Even in our program cancer is always a contraindication or precaution to everything but you have to understand what you are dealing with to know if it is going to have adverse side effects. LMT do not have that indepth of training unless they go for additional training.
Sorry you had to waist your time to find that out.
Suzanne

Nancy L · 01-05-2012, 03:42 PM

I am going for PT because of a sciatica issue. I was told the same thing about not using TENS in PT and having a massage because of my disease. So when I got home today, I contacted Dr. Slamon's PA. She said massage therapy is OK for metastic patients. Hooray!!!!

jml · 01-05-2012, 09:07 PM

Just wanted to share an update on this situation...
I thank you guys for giving me the space to rant, and I do appreciate all your feedback, comments, support, encourgement and critiques.

After all this happened, I spoke with the manager - though he dodged my calls for 3 days, spoke with Director of Customer Relations for Massage Envy corp, and upon her prompting, finally received a phone call from the franchise owner. I also went to my local Massage Envy & collected all the different waivers that are given to new clients, asking for specific information/policies about working with oncology clients on/off treatment. As a large national chain, I suspected the would already have corporate dictated standards in place for their employees and they do in fact have Massage Oncology Guidelines. The document is 4 pages, very thorough and appropriately cautionary, and with regard to this specific LMT's fear that she could make the sicker by pushing my cancer into my brain and lungs, the document ultimately states:
"The belief was that massage techniques could actually aid in the growth and spread of cancer and tumors by promoting increased circulation. Recent discoveries on how cancer is developed and spread throughout the body show these beliefs to be incorrect. Cancer starts and spreads from genetic mutation of cells. The simple application of massage cannot cause cells to mutate or spread as mutations are formed within the cell itself and spread in the replication process."

If this is the Massage Envy corporate standard with regard to working with oncology clients, then I would expect that when I walk into any franchise that their staff, including front desk, managers, owners and especially their LMT's are prepared, educated and qualified to uphold that standard.
I'm loyal Massage Envy client here in Atlanta have always received lovely customer service and excellent massage. It is my responsibility to disclose the full and honest truth about the state of my disease and treatment and I assume full responsibility for my own well being, whether I'm going for massage, acupunture, getting a mani/pedi, whatever. The LMT's thus far have always been comfortable working with me, even when I had palpable supraclav nodes - that LMT appropriately adjusted her technique to both her and my comfort level.
I was expecting at least the same level of professionalism when I went to the Hermosa Beach location, as they are a chain and do have corporate standards to uphold.
In my opinon, if any staff, especially the LMT's, are undereducated or ignorant about oncology massage or if they simply maintain a different belief system or philosophy about working with cancer patients, they probably shouldn't be working for Massage Envy.
Knowledge is power, and we are our own best advocates.

Keep the Faith~

Jessica

'lizbeth · 01-07-2012, 05:45 PM

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.