Breast cancer contraindications?

[squidgernetball]

I have been told the following. Lymph travels through the lymphatic system whether you receive massage or not. Massage helps the lymph to not sit and 'stagnate' in the lymph nodes and can actually help to improve the efficacy of the lymphatic system. Looking at the amount of hospitals offering massage for cancer patients, there seems to be a lot of benefit to it. Sometimes there seems to be so little knowledge on the benefits of massage which is a shame.
You are obviously not going to go against your consultant, and there may be specific reasons he states this.
I'm glad your nails give you a boost. The fear that surrounds treating cancer patients does make me mad sometimes - it is our sue culture. The benefits are many fold.

I wish you well, and long may your nails give you the lift you need.

Vicki x

 

[kezcows]

Jenfleur,

Your post made me smile especially the sparkles!! Every girl loves a bit of bling. Lol!

You can message me if you'd prefer?
Firstly I'd like to ask if it is Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin and also if you are receiving treatment I assume it is symptomatic rather than asymptomatic? Also what treatment are you receiving chemo IV or oral/platelets/immunotherapy/blood transfusion/stem cell transplant etc?

Obviously if your consultant says no then there has to be a good reason for this. Maybe you could ask the reasons why and I can advise further?

In the hospital environment I treat mostly everyone.....the big no no is if anyone has DVT's or blood clots. Every treatment I do is bespoke to the patient depending on treatment/cancer/post op/pre op/etc. I do a specific massage called hydrotherm on the hospital beds the massage is done on two warm water cushions and done face up so no turning it's amazing.

Take care of yourself.
Xx

 

[Jenfleur]

Thank you for your replies.
Squidernetball, what your saying makes perfect sense. I had originally asked about massage when I was first in hospital as my arms had doubled in size, but they said lymphatic massage was contraindicated with lymphoma. It's something to look forward to, but then they have kind of put me off them in the future. Will I be laying there wondering what's being pushed around. I know you've explained that lymph fluid travels round the body retardless of massage, but in my shoes it's a bit scarier.

Kencows, I'll pm you otherwise this thread will get off track!

 

[Laurza]

Kezcows, I'm currently undergoing treatment for Lymphoma and have been advised by my haemato-oncologist not to have massage. I would benefit greatly from the relax purposes of massage as its something I've always enjoyed. Is this something you would agree with? Not that I would go against what I've been told-but just out of interest. I've also been using Gelish on my nails with no problems. At a time when all my hair has fallen out and I feel rubbish most of the time, having lovely (glittery of course) nails makes feel feminine. Also my nails really sparkle in the bathroom, so even when I'm chucking up amd gripping the loo, sparkly nails can take the edge of it being so pants!!

My mum has lymphoma and when undergoing treatment I went to one of her consultant appointments and told him without her knowing I wanted to treat her to a spa day away from home and asked if we could still do her nails whilst having treatment. He said I could do her nails because the chemo she was having is okay when using a uv light for less than half hr but as others have said everything must be sterilised beyond clean incase of any nicks or cuts. He said an absolute no no to massage and insisted we didn't go against his word.
Go for it and get your nails done; I've seen how much a nice set of nails can please someone when their health isn't so good.
A massage probably wouldn't ultimately spread cancer and make it worse but they are the experts in their field. My mum is now treatment free for 4 years in August and always gets her nails done when I visit
I hope everything goes well for you xx

 

[Miss_Holly]

Not cancer, but diabetes - do you need a doctors note for anyone with diabetes?
I think 3 out of 5 of the ladies I have worked on (including while I was doing my course) have diabetes....
I know it may be hard getting a doctors note to say "yes you can", as then it falls back on them for allowing the treatment, but still good to know

 

[Jenfleur]

Laura, great to hear your mum is treatment free for 4 years, and yes it makes you feel great when your nails looks beautiful but every other part of your body feels awful. I do them myself, I had just started out in the nail industry when I was diagnosed, and my grand (naive) plans of still being able to carry out nail appts was swiftly halted when chemo started due to feeling so awful. I hope your mum has continued sucess and thank you for your well wishes. Xx

 

[dollydives]

Can I just start by saying massage does not spread cancer!

I work within the oncology and heamotology wards within a hospital and every day I carry out massage on patients that have cancer going through chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

However there are specific ways you carry out the massage especially for those patients that have had lymph nodes removed. The cancer may go into remission but the lymph nodes never grow back!

Chemotherapy is not kind to the nail bed and lots of people eventually lose there nails or they become very thin. Using a UV lamp to cure is not advisable as some chemo's are phototoxic. A led lamp is much better but only if the nail itself is strong enough to allow for this.

While doing cuticle work I wouldn't use nippers and it is imperative to ensure all tools used are sterilised using a glass bead steriliser or autoclave as the immune system will be very low and could cause infection which could jeopardise the next chemo session. I would also use fresh files for the client and foot files etc.

I hope this helps and doesn't sound pushy just trying to give some advice.

Hi Kezcows
I was wondering how you went about working in the oncology department? Do you work voluntary performing massage? I have been a beauty therapist for 14 years studying an HND and one of my most popular treatment is massage I would love to take a further course on treating patients with cancer. Please could you give me some advice xx

 

[AcidPerm]

Hi Kezcows
I was wondering how you went about working in the oncology department? Do you work voluntary performing massage? I have been a beauty therapist for 14 years studying an HND and one of my most popular treatment is massage I would love to take a further course on treating patients with cancer. Please could you give me some advice xx

kezcows has not been back to the forum since February 2015.
Why not contact your local oncology centre for specific advice?