Oncology (Cancer Care) Massage Practitioner

Course Programme:


As a Complementary Practitioner, it is vital to be fully educated and trained before working on anyone who has or has had cancer. To be a safe and truly effective therapist we must have a clear understanding of cancer and how we as the therapist need to adapt our treatments for the client.

The course is designed to give you a greater understanding of cancer, its causes and common treatments used today. We then explore the use of Oncology Massage to treat the side-effects of the various treatments on offer and to improve the sufferer`s quality of life.

Massage now plays a major role in palliative care (symptom relief) for cancer patients, and is used by many hospitals, hospices and self-help groups. Massage can also be used to help family, friends and carers.

The use of Complementary Therapies for clients suffering from Cancer is becoming more and more the norm than the exception. With current epidemiology suggesting that 4 in 10 people will experience cancer during their lifetime and the number of newly diagnosed cases in adults over the age of 50 doubling every decade, more and more therapists will work with clients who have, or have recovered from cancer.

During this 4 day course you will cover the following:

DAYS ONE AND TWO:

• Overview of cancer and allopathic treatment
• Main couses of cancer
• Cancer prevention - the role of complementary therapist
• Types of cancer
• Statistics and trends
• The basic physiology of cancer and metastasis
• Conventional and alternative cancer tests
• Exploring the issues of massage and cancer
• Understanding the psychological aspects of living with a potentially fatal disease
• Conventional cancer treatments and their side-effects and controversies

• Benefits of massage for cancer and palliative care clients in the home, hospital and hospice
• Common side-effects of treatment and symptoms of disease and the use of massage: fatigue, nausea, insomnia, exhaustion, weakness in the limbs, depression, hair loss, radiation burns, lymphoedema and oedema, scars and adhesions, GI tract disorders, constipation
• Adaptations necessary for people undergoing surgery, radiation or chemotherapy or who have a history of cancer
• How to adapt massage techniques for safe practice
• Client and practitioner positioning
• The role of touch and other complementary therapies in cancer care
• The dos and don'ts for therapists
• Helping care providers - family and friends
• What to use in massage - various oils and other products
• Teaching family members to massage
• Seated exercise for cancer patients
• Caustions and contraindications
• Guidelines for safe practice
• Consultation procedure for people with a history of cancer

Assessment:
You will be required to sit a 75 minute exam (25 multiple choice questions and 25 short answer questions), usually on Day 3 of the course.

In addition students will be required to submit a project on a particular aspect of cancer. The project should be approx. 2000 words (minimum 1000) and be correctly referenced.

Evidence of clinical experience (case studies) is encouraged, where possible, for all attendees and distinction grades may only be awarded to those who have provided this. The deadline for completing all assessment requirements is 6 months from the completion of the course.

A diploma certificate will be issued following completed course work and exams.

Please note: Therapists who have completed the Oncology Reflexology Diploma will be exempt from the first weekend of this course and the course fees will be discounted accordingly