Be Well: The Benefits of Touch Therapy for Cancer

When someone is diagnosed with cancer, they go through a barrage of treatments to eliminate or help curb the disease. These powerful therapies often do a number on the cancer. But they also leave behind a trail of symptoms and side effects that linger, causing their own brand of suffering.

Amid traditional medical care, many people are turning to integrative therapies for relief, support, and healing. A growing body of research shows that massage therapy particularly helps with the physical and emotional impact of having cancer, says Spring Saldana, a board-certified massage therapist and massage therapy program chair at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington.

Saldana can personally and professionally attest to the benefits of oncology massage. She experienced them while being treated for breast cancer and during her recovery. “When you go through something like that, you feel very alone, even when you have support,” says Saldana, a three-year survivor. “Being able to be touched, with care, in the safe space that was provided—it did a world of good for me.”

Read the full article from Mpls.St.Paul Magazine online here.