Welcome to class! I am an oncology massage therapist (S4OM Preferred Practitioner) and a Certified Lymphedema Therapist practicing in San Diego, CA. 

I am passionate about helping people after surgery and have seen the positive difference that manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) massage along with proper compression to the donor site can make in clients who have fat transfer to the breasts after a breast reconstruction. 

I put together this class for my fellow lymphatic massage and oncology massage therapists to share a few facts about what our clients will face in recovering from these surgeries and how massage can be a part of their healing journey and ongoing self-care. 

We will look at both research articles and clinical pearls. According to Lorin et al., “clinical pearls are best defined as small bits of free standing, clinically relevant information based on experience or observation. They are part of the vast domain of experience-based medicine, and can be helpful in dealing with clinical problems for which controlled data do not exist” (Lorin et al., 2008). 

How can massage help after surgery? 

• Reducing edema in the donor site will help many clients recover faster after liposuction. 
• Some clients can also experience  pain and limited range of motion in their body after surgery. 
• Other clients may be completely healed after several years and just want a relaxing massage by a therapist who is familiar with their cancer treatment and history.  

If you have proper hands-on training in oncology massage and manual lymphatic drainage, you can make a difference for these clients. 

What is an oncology massage therapist? https://www.s4om.org/massage-therapists/becoming-an-oncology-massage-therapist/