Refused a massage because I had cancer

[MinnieMountain]

I tried to book a massage at a new place yesterday but when I filled in their medical form and said I had cancer 8 years ago, they said they can't do it without a doctor's letter. Supposedly their insurance doesn't cover it as massage can cause any remaining cancer cells to grow again.

I'm astounded at their ignorance.

Has anyone else experienced this?

It used to be a contraindication when I was a beauty therapist years ago, but now it's known to not cause spread. Some salons would do it dependant on the cancer and it wouldn't be a deep massage and depending on their insurer. Some insurers would want a doctor letter to cover their backs.

See, I have a bit of an issue with medical forms in the beauty/spa setting. Who is interpreting the medical info you give? Almost certainly not a doctor.

It’s about liability, which is fine, they need to cover themselves . But that’s different from an informed discussion of risk. For that, you need a doctor, hence the need for a letter.

The masseur is almost certainly not medically qualified. Their insurance (and possibly their boss) says they shouldn’t do massages on people with cancer. As they are not medically qualified they follow the instructions. With all the stuff in the media about non-medical personnel not knowing their limitations and causing harm I’m quite pleased to read this.

The insurance will most likely drive what they can and can't offer. I have a couple of back conditions and I would need a GP or consultant letter to have a massage - despite me being an ex sports injury masseuse myself and being able to tell them exactly what's safe or not for my conditions.

Imagine being them, you giving a massage & then the cancer came back? If the official guidance says no, or the insurance, you could be sued whether the guidance is out of date or not.

You don't have to reveal an illness you have recovered from. Cancer is all monitored on a 5 year survival rate anyway, and you are long past that, so it is none of their business.

I can't give blood because I had (a non blood related) cancer excised many years ago. In my mind that's daft but if there's a slight chance of an issue, you need to get a letter from your GP.

Not ignorance, due diligence. In these litigious times people will sue for literally anything and everything. Its wise for people, especially in small business, to cover their own backs

You wouldn’t get very far trying to sue for something with no medical basis whatsoever.

I’m sorry you had this OP, it’s nonsense, massage can’t cause spread of a cancer that isn’t there and I’d be really interested to see robust evidence that it can cause spread even if there is a cancer. There are clearly cases where it wouldn’t be appropriate to massage an area without specialist training such as if there is extensive radiotherapy damage or lymphoedema but that’s a different question.

For those saying about insurance and covering themselves what situation could that possibly involve? Person who is clear of cancer has a massage, at some point in the future she is found to have metastatic cancer, how on earth could you possibly prove a link between the massage and the cancer? The risk factor for a cancer spreading is having a cancer, not having a massage.

Not sure of the purpose of the doctors letter either. Massages either spread cancer or they don’t (they don’t). OP’s GP isn’t going to check their oncology letters from 8 years ago and confirm that their cancer was massage resistant. They could confirm that she doesn’t have active cancer but then the OP has already done that, if they don’t trust clients to tell the truth on their forms then what’s the point of the form at all?

I hope you find somewhere sensible to have your massage OP and that this silliness hasn’t spoiled it for you.

I’m not that surprised - my mid 50’s DH had a hip replacement last month. In the list of stuff it says no dental treatment without antibiotics. Presumably forever. That really surprised me but I suppose its infection risk in the implant from the teeth. Obviously different to a massage, but I guess there’s a theoretical risk and they are covering themselves.

It’s also not a GPs job to educate a massage therapist on the non existent risks of their service. I imagine the OP has had quite enough of seeing doctors having had cancer, She probably doesn’t want to have to see one about something she knows poses no risk to her because someone at a salon can’t use their common sense. That’s quite aside from the fact that GPs should be using their time to see actually unwell people, like the ones who actually have cancer, not writing ridiculous letters so someone can tick a meaningless box.

I used to perform massage. This is drilled into you when you’re training. Part of the reason being if someone has been clear for x years and then suddenly developed it again after a massage, technically they could claim that the massage caused the reoccurrence and sue. It couldn’t be proven it wasn’t that.

I haven’t practiced now for about ten years, but when I did I performed a massage on a neighbour. Soon afterwards she was diagnosed with terminal cancer which had spread. Honestly, I still blame myself, and you can tell how long ago it was seeing as I haven’t performed a massage in over ten years. The guilt was partly why I stopped

A GP will probably have to charge you for any letter so it would be cheaper to ask around other massage therapists.

There is a time frame I believe and it is only to do with insurance, but I’m pretty certain it’s only a year or two. Find another and give your history for the last two years! I’ve had massages and has cancer five years ago - I was always open with therapist as she would see my scars and it wasn’t an issue at all x

Unfortunately in the days of blame , litigation and compensation culture
people will not take any risk and cover there backs hence the doctors letter

Exactly. I've had cancer and this is standard.

It isn't exactly that it encourages cancer to grow, but massage can encourage blood and lymph fluid to move faster around the body and if there are stray cancer cells, the increased flow could lead to new growth.

I have massages occasionally and I lie. Because otherwise they won't do it, and this has been the case in 3 different countries.

When did your consultant tell you this? Surely everyone should be warned in writing?

I provided a letter from my specialist (which was free) when I last had a massage. I’m (hopefully) cancer free but the therapist needed it for insurance purposes.

That doesn't matter. If their insurance doesn't cover them, as a small business, no one in their right mind is going to take the risk. If they aren't covered, they would be carrying all the costs of being sued themselves.

Ahhh. I wonder if cafes should start questioning people before they serve sugary desserts. It would be awful if they got sued because someone’s cancer spread.

@DinosaurBlue
the Macmillan website literally says ‘You should only have a massage from a therapist who is trained and qualified to treat people with cancer.’ copied and pasted from their website.

I trained as a massage therapist and there are a few conditions that require a letter from the client's doctor. Cancer is one if them, pregnancy is another. It is to protect the client and the therapist and to fulfil the requirements of the therapists insurance and professional registration.
There are uninsured, unregulated and untrained massage therapists around and they won't ask or care, but I would always find a properly qualified and insured one.

I have cancer. Yes, you really should get medical advice before having a massage. “Had cancer 8 years ago” can mean different things to different people. There are people in remission for 8 years. There are people with stable mets for 8 years.

When I was on adjuvant treatment after successful surgery (no evidence of cancer in my body), I still needed my oncologist’s okay for a massage. No one wants to be moving cancer around the lymphatic system, so it’s sensible. You can always take your business elsewhere, but I was grateful my therapist was so conscientious and thorough.

Honestly, you need to let yourself free from that guilt, you didn’t cause that cancer to spread, there’s just no evidence base for it at all.

I think this must be quite common. My consultant told me to not declare on spa forms as they would and could refuse… but in his view it was entirely unnecessary. So I don’t mention it!