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?

I have been refused a facial due to having cancer which has left scarring

Big difference between active treatment phase and having ‘had’ cancer.

I did get a doctor’s letter straight after active treatment had finished but that was 15yrs ago and never mention it now.

Cancer is so many diseases that therapists have to tread with case. As they do with pregnancy.

I am very open about my scars all over my body being from cancer 13 years ago and not once has a masseuse ever said they can't massage me, or asked for a doctors letter! I didnt know it was a thing! (Even if just for insurance because otherwise any form of activity that gets blood moving round the body would 'spread the cancer', right?)

But the non medically qualified massage therapist cannot and should not be the judge of that. She has ticked yes on the cancer box so therefore to the massage therapist she has got cancer.

My aunt has. It was because she developed one sided lymphodema from her cancer treatment. You need specialist massage techniques if someone has lymphodema. A regular massage place is likely not trained in it.

Sounds like a myth to me.

When my son was actively in treatment, OT showed me massage techniques to help with neuropathy (caused by complications of cancer and then worsened with chemotherapy).

He had lymphoma.

Medical massage done by an OT or physio is very different from massage done at a day spa.

She doesn’t need to be a judge of anything. I’m sure OP is perfectly capable of knowing whether she has or had cancer.

Presumably, the insurance doesn't require them to ask. The beauty therapy insurance does - so if they ignore this and treat against the rules of their insurance they won't be covered if anyone for any reasons sued

I didn’t think it was about spread (even if masseurs may assume this) - I was told that there was a risk of lymphoedema after I had a large amount of lymph nodes removed in my leg. I was told I could have other limbs massaged though. The lymph nodes don’t grow back obviously so the situation is ongoing irrespective of remission. Same reason I was advised around the risks in injuring the leg as any inflammation could turn into lymphodema as no lymph nodes to help remove it. Seems logical to me.

So a day spa massage would potentially 'move cancer' around if that was the case but not a medical massage?

That still doesn’t alter the fact that there is no scientific evidence to support the theory that any massage can reactivate cancer cells. A medical massage from an OT or a massage therapist trained in oncology techniques only differs from standard massage in that a trained therapist will know to use lighter pressure in some areas and avoid recent surgery or therapy sites.

No. She has said she HAD cancer EIGHT years ago. By your logic massage therapists should be doing pregnancy tests on all women who have ever had a pregnancy because if they were once pregnant how can she be sure they’re no longer pregnant?!

I know that, whoever posted the cancer cell nonsense has a lot to answer for.

My comment was about my aunt who got lymphodema from her cancer treatments. This is a life long chronic side effect from cancer treatment. She can’t go to a day spa and get a massage because it can make her lymphodema worse, she has to use someone that is medically trained in her condition so it would be at a physiotherapist clinic, not a spa in a hotel or whatever.

There is more to it than lighter pressure to avoid recent surgery or treatment sites. I can see you have no idea what lymphodema is.

This thread isn’t about lymphoedema. It’s specifically about the misinformation that massage can reactivate cancer years after treatment.

Of course your aunt should only have her lymphoedema affected limb massaged by someone with specific training. As should any person with lymphoedema not caused by cancer.

No it isn’t.
The thread is specifically about being refused a massage because of cancer history and whether anyone else had experienced it.

Read the OP, not the derailment.

Oncology massage is a 1-2 day cpd course! I think someone posted up thread that most of the specialist skills it teaches are things like not dislodging a picc line or aggrevating open wounds. It does mean you can get specific insurance.

I trained in massage therapy last year and the advice some who've trained long ago have received around cancer seems completely outdated. I also gave free massage to a friend who was receiving treatment for lymphoma while I training. I asked him to speak to his team before to make sure it was OK and they said there were no issues with it during or after treatment. Obviously this was not a commercial exchange so no liabilities involved but from the disease pov medical advice was more or less "go for it".

Yes, and the reason for blanket refusal is misinformation around recurrence. What the thread is not about is management of a specific condition which may be caused by cancer, cancer treatment, or completely unrelated to cancer.

Regardless of Misinformation or outdated training makes no difference if insurance companies insist on xyz.

Car insurance - many companies insure 17 yr olds but some companies will only insure adults over 25.if your insurance is with a company who won't insure under 25 this means they won't add your child who just passed to your car.
It doesn't matter if that 17yr old is responsible, it doesn't matter if the parent is happy to have them drive the car. The only important thing is they won't be insured.
You would be stupid and in trouble if you allowed them to drive without insurance. Your insurance will be void if the insurers found out.

Even if the salon doesn't see any reason against massage on cancer survivors, even if the person would happily do it - They can not be ause they are not insured

Awareness is needed by the insurance companies first

I agree with you regarding insurance, obviously no one in their right mind is going to do something that negates their professional insurance. However, this thread demonstrates that lots of people, including massage therapists, believe the reason for not being insured is due to a risk of cancer recurrence which is not true. It’s also pretty damaging given There’s a poor woman on here who has lived for 10 years with the guilt of believing she caused her neighbours metastatic cancer.

Lymphoedema is a specific condition in itself though and as such would require specific treatment and anything but specialist massage would be contra indicated regardless of the underlying cause. Your aunt’s cancer would not be reactivated by massage any more than anyone else’s cancer would be - the lymphoedema is a separate issue.

I most certainly do have more than an idea of what lymphoedema is, having recently had all lymph nodes removed from one side following breast cancer/mastectomy. We’re saying the same thing - that lymphoedema is a specific condition requiring specific therapy, regardless of the underlying cause, so of course massage at a spa would be contra indicated. But your aunt’s cancer wouldn’t be ‘reactivated’ by the massage any more than anyone elses’ and that’s the point. The reason she can’t access massage at a spa is because of lymphoedema, not the cancer that caused it.

I have heard it before and tend not to disclose that I had cancer 30 years ago in case it causes an issue. What surprises me is that when I was first diagnosed I asked my oncologist if there were any forms of alternative therapy that she could recommend. She told me to get a massage.

I've learnt that people will comment on everything whether it was asked or not. And I doubt whoever wrote this has even been through the experience. It's a very close minded opinion.

First off, woohoo! Congratulations for being NED for 8 years!! I'm only 7 months in and counting, can't wait to get to 8 years one day! Separately, my doctors at the Royal Marsden have said I can have massages, the opinions and recos online are very outdated and sadly a lot of salons are scared to touch us because of it. As frustrating as it is, I recommend finding another place that aren't scared of cancer patients and that have masseuses that are specialised in cancer. Looking at it the other way round, I was going to have a PT session at my local gym (first exercise since treatment began) and the PT didn't know anything about lymphedema. Even though they didn't ask for a doctor's note, I decided to cancel the session because the PT didn't know anything about post cancer risks. So as annoying as it is, would you want anyone doing anything to you that doesn't understand the risks? x

If the insurance company doesn’t allow you to perform a treatment if the client has a contraindication, then you just can’t.

No one would be daft enough to work without insurance.

insurance companies are incredibly strict and always tightening their regulations. That’s not the therapists fault.