BTI Continuing Education Workshops
Cancer and Massage Therapy: Safety Essentials
with Cindy Gillan, MA, LMT and Julie Streeter, RN, LMT
June 7-8, 2012 | Thursday-Friday, 8:30am-5:30pm | 16 continuing ed contact hours | $335
This workshop is based on the pioneering work of Tracy Walton, MS, LMT,
author of Medical Conditions and Massage Therapy: A Decision Tree Approach.
Massage therapy is a growing part of cancer care. People seek massage therapy during treatment, end of life, diagnosis, and survivorship. In this lively, interactive course, we outline essential information and skills for working safely with clients who have cancer or cancer histories. We begin by dispelling old myths about massage and cancer spread. We go on to address concrete massage adjustments for several of the most common client presentations, including bone and vital organ involvement, lymphedema, blood clots, and side effects of typical cancer treatments.
Throughout the course, we use simple tools to smooth the way. A quick “decision tree” format helps identify massage contraindications and map out adjustments in pressure, joint movement, client position, and other factors. With an easy-to-use pressure scale, we practice the massage pressures used for different case scenarios. Targeted interview questions are introduced, along with guidelines for using the client’s answers.
In our massage planning, we bring together information from our clients, our clients’ physicians, the literature, and our clinical experience. Participants leave this course with clear safety essentials, forms to use with clients and physicians, and an extensive manual.
Workshop Scope:
This course provides an overview of the safety principles in massage for people with cancer. If you are looking for comprehensive training in oncology massage, certification in oncology massage, training in remedial or rehabilitative work with reconstructed tissue, scars, lymphedema, or other late post-treatment complications, please visit the Society for Oncology Massage, www.s4om.org, for more extensive and advanced training.
Learning Activities.:
We blend lecture, discussion, case scenarios, Q&A, and hands-on practice in this course. Although hands-on practice takes place each day, the first four learning activities are emphasized.
Cindy Gillan is the director of the oncology massage program at Boston Medical Center. She is a licensed massage therapist and instructor at Cortiva Institute-Boston (formerly Muscular Therapy Institute), where she has taught a variety of courses since 1997. Her work with people with cancer includes participation in NIH-funded massage therapy research, and she has studied and taught oncology massage therapy with Tracy Walton. She loves teaching, and brings her steady presence and sense of humor to each classroom experience. Cindy holds a master’s degree in health care administration and has maintained a private practice since 1993. An avid runner and cyclist, she is a regular rider in the Pan-Mass Challenge, an annual fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Julie Streeter is a registered nurse with 30 years of experience in medical-surgical nursing, oncology and hospice care. Based in Minneapolis, she is an adjunct professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University, where she teaches oncology massage. Julie is a graduate of the Muscular Therapy Institute and has studied and taught oncology massage therapy with Tracy Walton. She brings a world of clinical experience, warmth, and caring attention to her students. An active member of the Society for Oncology Massage, she serves on the planning committee for the 2013 Oncology Massage Healing Summit. Julie works with outpatients at the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute. She is also the integrative therapist at Unity Hospital, where she uses massage and other complementary therapies with hospitalized patients.
About the Founder:
Tracy Walton is a researcher, writer, award-winning educator, and specialist in massage and cancer care. She has worked on clinical trials funded by the NIH (National Cancer Institute) involving professional massage and massage by caregivers. Research partners include the Osher Institute at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center. She writes a regular column on oncology massage in Massage Today. Tracy has a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College and a master's degree in biology from Northeastern University. She is a graduate of the Muscular Therapy Institute, where she served as a faculty member and Academic Dean. For more information, visit her website at www.tracywalton.com.