Over the past 30 years I have seen my profession evolve and gain the respect of the medical community. Massage can help your muscles relax, release built up toxins in your body, and just make you feel relaxed. There have also been studies which show that massage can be beneficial for cancer patients.

While I am reluctant to massage people who are going through chemotherapy, after being a massage therapist for so many years, I have seen for myself that massage helps to relieve their pain. Chemotherapy pumps toxins into the cancer patient’s system in order to kill off the cancer cells growing in their body. When chemo is completed, those toxins are still in the body, and getting rid of them can be a tricky proposition.  So for those who have had chemo, I will do gentle, soothing massages to help cancer patients feel better and relieve some of the pain, but not until they have been out of chemo treatments for a few months am I comfortable doing anything stronger. Once cleared by their physician, deep tissue massage will not only help with pain, it helps release toxins that build up in our system over time.

Our bodies are remarkable, and when we use our minds, our food, our prayers and get great support, coming back from cancer can be the greatest blessing. Whatever I and other holistic professionals can do to facilitate healing and recovery is our gift and our pleasure.

If you, or someone you love, is going through a battle with cancer, give me a call, let’s talk about what I can do to help.

Valentina Boonstra