Suggest care to be taken for cancer patients
Patient: Hello,although I do not have Cancer myself,I was wondering if you could offer some advice on treating Cancer patients in general,using Complementary therapies such as body massage.I work at a Womens Health Group in the UK and find that many therapists are reluctant to treat Cancer patients due to the fact that they are unsure whether or not the Cancer could be spread throughout the body by using therapies.I would be grateful if you could let me know what the current thoughts/research are on this,as obviously,our aim is to help people to feel better and do no harm.Thankyou,Yours faithfully,Mrs G.Watson. Doctor: Hi,Thanks for writing in.Cancer is a condition which arises due to abnormal proliferation of cells in any organ system of the body. This might have origins in certain viruses but cancer as a condition is not spread by body massage. It is true that any person might harbor an infection so massage therapist have to take precautions when giving massage to any person irrespective of whether thy have a disease.Cancer patients are as good candidates for body massage as compared to the general population. General precautions are to be taken for any person getting a massage, whether or not they have cancer. I hope your organization provides services to cancer patients just the way they serve the general population maintaining basic hygienic practice. Please do not worry.