I sometimes joke that this is how I imagine flying first class. I sit in my big chair while someone massages my neck, shoulders, and hands. Creating a soothing bubble around me, making me forget for a moment all the noise around me.
Except I’m not on a plane, I’m in chemotherapy. I’m connected to an intravenous drip. And I have five hours of treatment ahead of me.
Five hours is a long time… Needless to say how welcome the chair massage services offered by the Quebec Cancer Foundation can be… like little rejuvenating pitstops in a demanding day.
I’m told these therapists have 400 hours special training in oncology. And that’s reassuring, since every cancer has its own peculiarities. And beyond the disease, every individual comes with their own story. You need special expertise to successfully create such intimate, beneficial moments in an oncology unit.
The Foundation’s massage therapists make us feel like people, not patients. They manage to instill confidence in us even before they start. The first massage we receive is their smile.
Sure, there’s the science. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy… treatments for the body. But you also need healing for the heart and soul.
And that’s why the Quebec Cancer Foundation offers us these moments of tenderness.
