Tracy Walton & Associates

Caring for clients with Cancer

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    • Oncology Massage Therapy 4 Day Intensive Course
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Research

RESEARCH-PAGE-RCT-Diagram-by-Tracy-WaltonTracy Walton has worked with several investigators looking at clinical outcomes in people with cancer. In 2001-2002 she worked with what is now Harvard Medical School’s Osher Institute, collecting pilot data on massage with hospitalized patients with metastatic disease. The data were collected to gain funding for a phase II randomized, controlled trial (RCT) on massage with this population.

In 2004-2005 Tracy worked as a
co-investigator on the phase II trial, “Massage for Hospitalized Patients with Metastatic Cancer (NIH Grant # 5R21CA098487-02).” This grant was funded by the National Cancer Institute, the principal investigator was Russell Phillips, MD, and the research was carried out at the Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

In 2006 she helped complete a systematic review of research on massage therapy and symptom relief in patients with cancer. The principal investigator was Cynthia Myers, LMT, Ph.D. at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

She worked as a consultant on a grant from the National Cancer Institute, “Couples and Cancer: Building Partner Efficacy in Caring (NIH Grant # 2R44CA103606-02A2)” The principal investigator on this Phase II grant was William Collinge of Collinge and Associates. The project yielded the “Touch, Caring, and Cancer” home instruction program now in use in hospitals around the world, and available in 5 languages.

What’s New

Why take a course in oncology massage therapy?

There are so many good reasons. Here are a few:

Service. During cancer treatment and beyond, people need support. They need symptom relief. They need sleep. Oncology massage therapy (OMT) can help people cope during cancer treatment, at end of life, post-treatment, and during diagnosis.
Practice building. With the right skills, you can meet growing client demand and build your practice. You can be part of cancer care. It is better for your business to be able to work with people right then, right where they are, than to refer them out or send them home.
Career satisfaction and longevity. OMT is immensely satisfying work. Your steady presence and your hands can make a huge difference in someone's day or week. You might even find our approach to be easier on your hands and alignment. We offer new ways to provide comfort without effort and "deep tissue" work.

To practice OMT, massage therapists need to know what to ask clients before the massage, and how to use the client's answers. They need to know how to think through what to do, and how to communicate with clients in difficult circumstances. They need confidence, sensitivity, strong interview and table-side instruction. They need to learn from actual case studies and real-world exercises, and good chances to practice.

We provide these learning experiences in our 4-Day Intensive, Oncology Massage Therapy: Caring for Clients with Cancer.

Learn more...

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