[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-401417-105":3,"doc-detail-401417-en":80,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":98},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","cancer-massage-and-the-myth-of-metastasis-why-skilled-massage-wont-spread-cancer","Cancer, Massage, and the Myth of Metastasis - Why Skilled Massage Won’t Spread Cancer","","Oncology massage therapy education that addresses a widespread misconception: massage does not cause cancer to spread. It explains how cancer is classified by tissue type, clarifies terminology such as metastasis and primary-site naming, and describes why cancers may be symptom-free at the original location. The article then uses an acorn-and-oak seeding analogy to walk through steps like cell shedding, floating, and implantation, highlighting common metastatic sites.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/cancer-massage-and-the-myth-of-metastasis-why-skilled-massage-wont-spread-cancer/401417/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/cancer-massage-and-the-myth-of-metastasis-why-skilled-massage-wont-spread-cancer/401417.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"วิน","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-09-27",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":33},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why do some people believe massage can spread cancer, and what impact has this had?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Many therapists were taught or heard the belief through school, colleagues, or literature. The misconception has affected client access to supportive touch and has caused missed opportunities and awkward situations.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"How is cancer spread terminology defined in oncology massage education?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Metastasis is defined as the movement of cancer cells from a primary site to a secondary site in another organ or tissue. Cancer naming is based on the primary site, not the secondary site.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What are the main steps of the metastasis process explained using the acorn analogy?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The explanation covers cell shedding into adjacent circulation, cell floating through blood pathways, and cell implantation where cells exit circulation to grow in a distant tissue. It also notes that many circulating cells may die, but some survive.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},401417,1792441118,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",{"doc_id":78,"user_id":83,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":84,"doc_module":4,"category_id":85,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":86,"file_id":87,"file_url":88,"file_type":89,"file_size":90,"view_count":33,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":91,"language":92,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":93,"faqs":94,"seo_title":95,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":96,"read_time":97,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104736,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c5e0e5b17e70?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786591360781797222",7,"Cancer, Massage, and the Myth of Metastasis Why Skilled Massage Won’t Spread Cancer  \nPrep for 4-Day Intensive, Oncology Massage Therapy With Tracy Walton & Associates, LLC  \nWere you Taught that Massage Could Spread Cancer?  \nMany massage therapists were taught this in school, heard it from colleagues, or read it in the literature. It is a common misconception that has cost the profession dearly. Although this belief is changing in our field, it is still present, and has a huge impact. It has denied clients the wonderful support and comfort of skilled touch. And it has meant that we’ve said no to thousands of opportunities to work with clients during an important time in their lives. It has led to many awkward moments, lost clients, and lost business. At moments, it has been heartbreaking, for therapist and client alike.  \nMany of you have already challenged this old belief in order to work with clients with cancer. But we need to be able to talk about this issue in-depth, to look closely at why it was such a closely held belief for so long. As professionals, it is important to be able to educate others as to why this belief does not hold up anymore.  \nSome Useful Terms  \nWhen you work in oncology massage, you don’t have to be experts in the language, but some common terms become familiar to oncology massage therapists over time.  \nCancer Types  \nTake a look at how cancer is classified. Cancer arises from 6 types of tissue:  \n\n| Cancer Type | Tissue of origin | Examples | Notes |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Carcinoma | Epithelial tissue (glands, coverings, linings or organs/tracts) | Breast, colon, prostate, bladder, lungs | 80-90% of all cancers Solid tumors (“mass”) |\n| Sarcoma | Connective tissue (bones, tendons, adipose, cartilage, muscle) | Chondroma, osteosarcoma | Solid tumors (“mass”) |\n| Lymphoma | Bone marrow/blood, typically develop in | Hodgkin, Non-Hodgkin | Sometimes called“liquid” cancers, |\n\n\n|  | lymphatic system or specific organs such as stomach, breast, brain |  | sometimes called “solid”cancers. |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Leukemia | Usually white cells, begin in bone marrow/blood | Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Acute myelogenous leukemia | “Liquid” or “blood”cancer |\n| Myeloma | Plasma cells of bone marrow | Multiple myeloma | “Liquid” tumor |\n| Mixed | Derive from more than one cell type | Vaginal spindle cellepithelioma | Less common |\n\nWhile the classification of lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma is either solid/liquid depending on the source in the literature, the first two—Carcinoma and Sarcoma—are firmly described as solid tumors or “masses.” In this article, we will focus on the solid masses. This is where the concern about massage spreading cancer seems to have originated.  \n(In the 4-day course, we introduce principles and practices that apply to a broad range of cancer types, but here we’ll focus on solid tumors.)  \nTerms in Cancer Spread  \nMetastasis = cancer spread. The movement of cancer cells from a primary site to a secondary site in another organ or tissue. Also called metastatic disease, distant spread, and often advanced disease.  \nCancer is named by its primary site, not by its secondary site.  \nBreast cancer with metastasis (spread) to the bone is not called bone cancer. It is called breast cancer with metastasis (“mets”) to the bone.  \nLung cancer with metastasis (spread) to the liver is not called liver cancer. It is called lung cancer with mets to the bone.  \nOften cancer causes no symptoms at the primary site. It does not cause symptoms until it has spread to another site. Because it is so often clinically silent, cancer can spread before it is diagnosed. Improvements in screening have helped with this.  \n(How do physicians know where a cancer came from? They do not always know, in some, the source tissue is not detectable, and this is called cancer of unknown primary. However, in most cases, the cancer cells share qualities of the originating tissue.)  \nCommon Sites of Metastasis  \nC","cbCainZD2sALMWYs","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCainZD2sALMWYs","pdf",757811,10,"English","# Were you Taught that Massage Could Spread Cancer?\n# Some Useful Terms\n## Cancer Types\n## Terms in Cancer Spread\n# Common Sites of Metastasis\n# The Metastasis Process, Oak Trees, and Acorns","[{\"question\":\"Why do some people believe massage can spread cancer, and what impact has this had?\",\"answer\":\"Many therapists were taught or heard the belief through school, colleagues, or literature. The misconception has affected client access to supportive touch and has caused missed opportunities and awkward situations.\"},{\"question\":\"How is cancer spread terminology defined in oncology massage education?\",\"answer\":\"Metastasis is defined as the movement of cancer cells from a primary site to a secondary site in another organ or tissue. Cancer naming is based on the primary site, not the secondary site.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the main steps of the metastasis process explained using the acorn analogy?\",\"answer\":\"The explanation covers cell shedding into adjacent circulation, cell floating through blood pathways, and cell implantation where cells exit circulation to grow in a distant tissue. It also notes that many circulating cells may die, but some survive.\"}]","Cancer, Massage, and the Myth of Metastasis - Why Skilled Massage Won’t Spread Cancer | PDF",1790519849,25,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":99},[100,104,108,112,117,122,125,130,135,138,141],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":113,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":85,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":124},40,"healthcare",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":127,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":129},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":134},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":133,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":133,"slug":137},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":91,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":139,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":140},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":142,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":143,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":144},19,"General","general"]