The announcement of a cancer diagnosis is a serious disruption in anyone’s life. And after the diagnosis come the treatments, the side effects and the physical and psychological pain.

People living with cancer often use complementary approaches to medicine to relieve their pain. They turn to meditation and yoga, but also massage therapy.

There are in fact many studies that confirm the effectiveness of personalized massage administered by a therapist specialized in oncology. Benefits include:

• Pain relief;
• Lessened anxiety;
• Decreased fatigue;
• Improved quality of life for cancer patients suffering from secondary lymphedema.

Christiane, a Foundation beneficiary who was diagnosed with breast cancer, recalls the importance played by massage therapy in her course of treatment: “I was introduced to something that I would never have found on my own. I abandoned myself to expert hands and closed my eyes in perfect stillness. Every Tuesday, I received a massage that gave me wings for the week. Worries, hassles, pain: all gone.”

The Quebec Cancer Foundation, which has worked with the Fondation de la massothérapie since 2011, has decided to further enhance its oncology massage services.

We now offer free in-hospital chair massages for patients receiving chemotherapy.

The fact remains, however, that offering these massages involves significant expense for the Quebec Cancer Foundation. We can only offer the service free of charge if we raise more funds.

This is why the Foundation has mounted several fundraising campaigns, supported by an adjustment to the price of massage therapy: as of November 1, 2018 this will go up to $25 per hour.

This adjustment to the price of this physical wellness program will make it possible to provide a wider choice of massages to the thousands of Quebecers who knock on the Foundation’s door every year.