Supporting Body, Mind, and Spirit Through Cancer Treatments

Cancer treatments take a toll on the body, mind, and spirit in many ways:

Disrupted sleep

Pain

Nausea

Side effects of chemotherapy

Soreness from surgery

Tissue disruption from radiation

Troubling thoughts

So, what activities can you engage in to support your body, mind, and spirit through cancer treatments?

Oncology massage:

An oncology massage differs from a “regular” massage. When you think of a typical massage, you often think of the therapist massaging out kinks and tight muscles, especially deep in the muscles.

An oncology massage is much different from your usual massage.

Firstly, the massage therapist is specially trained in oncology massage. There are potential side effects from other massage therapies that could adversely affect the cancer patient. For this reason, your oncology massage therapist will devise an individual plan for you based on the type of cancer you have, the location of your cancer, and your goals for treatment.

Secondly, the purpose of an oncology massage is different from a “regular” massage. An oncology massage is meant to improve immune support, assist with relaxation, and help you sleep better. Your tissues must be handled delicately. Your body is already under stress from your cancer treatments, so care must be taken not to overwhelm the tissues even more with a traditional massage.

For instance, a traditional massage is meant to release toxins such as lactic acid from deep within the tissue. These toxins are then processed and eliminated from the body.

These same toxins can overwhelm the system of a cancer patient since they already have an overload of waste in their body from the effects of cancer treatments.

Cancer treatments are meant to cause cancer cells to die. As cells die, they give off waste products. If the system is overloaded with even more toxins from a traditional massage, the effects could make the cancer patient quite ill. Even more so than they are already.

An oncology massage can gently release toxins from tissues, but not as massively as a traditional massage. This helps your body process out the chemicals and improves overall well-being without overwhelming your organ functions.

I had several oncology massages when I was going through breast cancer. My oncologist recommended this for me to help decrease the soreness from lymphedema I had in my right arm and chest after my mastectomy. (Read: The Day I Met Cancer in the Mirror)

Acupuncture:

Another therapy you might find helpful is acupuncture. Acupuncture uses very fine needles that are inserted into the skin and underlying tissue for several reasons. It increases circulation, opens blocked energy pathways, and relieves soreness.

I had traditional acupuncture done for a few weeks. Unfortunately for me, I did not get the benefit from the therapy that I was hoping for.

Physical therapy:

Cancer treatments, such as surgery, can cause limitations in your body that you will have to overcome. A physical therapist can help by:

Teaching you exercises to regain mobility

Helping you to increase your range of motion

Instructing you on strengthening exercises

Massage

Treatments such as ultrasound and heat or cold therapy.

After my double mastectomy, I had six weeks of daily radiation therapy Monday through Friday. I had lymphedema in my right arm due to the lymph nodes that were removed from under my right arm. And the radiation treatments caused the right side of my chest and underarm to become very tight making it quite difficult for me to raise my arm over my head.

The combination of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation left me very weak.

I went to physical therapy two days a week for several weeks. My therapist did a lymphedema massage. This type of massage gently “pushes” the excess fluid from the area of damaged/missing lymph nodes to an area of healthy lymph nodes that could remove the excess fluid. This was a long process.

She also did ultrasound treatments on the burned and damaged skin and tissues on my chest. The radiation treatments caused severe burns and scar tissue. The ultrasound treatments broke up the scar tissue and helped me regain mobility.

Also, she taught me stretching exercises to help limber up the damaged areas and keep the tissue and ligaments pliable.

Integrative medicine:

My oncologist also had me see an integrative medicine doctor. Integrative medicine uses different approaches to help you gain optimum health.

Her story was touching about how she became an integrative medicine physician. Her mother had gone through breast cancer treatments. Dr. R was a medical doctor, but her mother kept asking her for natural ways to deal with the side effects of chemo. Dr. R said she didn’t know what to offer her mom, so she began her journey into integrative medicine to help cancer patients with more natural ways to deal with cancer alongside the medical treatments they were also getting.

For me, the hot flashes were unbearable when I started taking medicine to decrease the estrogen in my body after chemo. (My breast cancer was fed by estrogen, so I take medicine to keep my body from producing estrogen, and thus the hot flashes).

She had me start taking high-quality supplements to replace what chemotherapy had depleted.

Dr. R also encouraged me to meditate. She taught me to take a deep breath in to the count of five. Then I would very slowly exhale. After doing several of these breathing repetitions, I would sit quietly and think of what I was grateful for.

Then I would do more breathing repetitions. After this set of breathing exercises, I would sit quietly and give up any stresses that were beyond my control. (Is the breast cancer really gone? Will the breast cancer come back? Will I get colon cancer like my dad had? Read: The Day Cancer Turned Royal Blue).

Finally, I would do another series of breathing exercises. After that round, I would just sit quietly … and do nothing.

By this time my heart had been filled with gratitude, my mind had been emptied of worrying thoughts, and I would just sit and be in the moment.

Healing touch:

When my mom was in hospice (Read: The Day Cancer Turned Pink), a therapist came around and offered her “healing touch” therapy. From the sounds of it, one might think of a massage. But healing touch was the exact opposite. The therapist never even touched my mom.

She began by “moving the air” about two feet above my mom while my mom lay there with her eyes closed.

After a few moments, the therapist repeated this, but this time she moved her hands down to about one foot above my mother. She would begin with both of her hands at the center of my mom’s body and then move her hands outward.

Finally, she did this again but with her hands about six inches above my mom.

I thought this was the dopiest thing I had ever seen. But when the therapist finished, she asked my mom if there was anything else she could do before she left.

I was completely dumbfounded when my mom asked her if she would come back again. The therapist said that she would and then my mom fell into the most restful sleep she had had up to that point.

One day my mom was especially fitful, so I tried to do what I had seen the therapist do. I don’t know if it helped or if my mom fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

The next time the healing touch therapist came back, I told her what I did. She explained that healing touch works by moving the energy fields around the body and reorganizing them sending positive energy back into the body.

This is not an exhaustive list of therapies to support your body, mind, and spirit through cancer treatments. These are however the treatments I have had personal experience with. Ask your cancer care team what therapies are available in your area.

Comment below on which therapy you will try to support your body, mind, and spirit through your cancer treatments.

Wishing you all the best,

Kelly

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Yes, I am a nurse. No, I am not your nurse. The medical topics discussed in this, or any article on this site, are intended to be issues for you to discuss with your medical team if you feel they apply to you. None of the information you are about to read in this article is treatment advice for you from me. I do not have that authority.