Oncology Intensive – 6 day class

This 6-day Oncology Massage course combines aspects of 101 and 201 for a more comprehensive treatment of Oncology Massage and also includes an introduction to working with scar tissue.  This course includes 3 hands-on clinics.  The material is this course is a hybrid of review from 101 and 201, but also includes content about end of life care, hospital-based practice basics and practice building.

This course is an opportunity to learn not only the basics of oncology massage, but also some of the more specific details that will get you started if your path is leading you in the direction of working with clients affected by cancer.

It includes three supervised, hands-on clinics with actual clients (one specifically addressing scar tissue and two full-body, client-centered sessions).  Students will develop a working knowledge of the disease process of cancer as it relates to massage therapy as well as the ability to speak intelligently with colleagues, other medical professionals and clients about the benefits and safety of oncology massage.  The course includes daily opportunities to practice hands-on protocols and techniques which can be put into practice immediately.  Six days also affords the opportunity to address the topics of building an oncology massage practice and/or hospital program, including how to talk to doctors, how to approach medical offices and infusion centers and how to network within existing programs.  In addition to technical skills, students will learn about themselves and their beliefs and assumptions about disease, wellness and death and dying.  It might be the most fun you’ve ever had learning about cancer.

Required Reading- Medicine Hands: Massage Therapy for People with Cancer, by Gayle MacDonald, MS, LMT

Instructors – Lauren Muser Cates, Julie Ackerman, Kerry Jordan, Lucille Eddy