Permission for Self-Care
One of my biggest revelations going through cancer was discovering and making time for self-care. I suppose this shouldn’t have been a revelation, and probably is just plain common sense to many. But for me, it was HUGE. I was a mother of two very young boys for my first cancer diagnosis, and they were just a few years older when I fought cancer the second time. I was a manager running multi-million dollar programs in Corporate America. I saw myself in the business of caring for others and taking care of business. Sure, I took some time for myself: a quick run in the morning; a few precious moments at night before bed. But I wouldn’t say I necessarily recognized or prioritized self-care.
But revelations are something that can happen when facing cancer. Cancer can make you look at your life and think, “hmm, I’m not so sure that’s working.” So, alas, among other things, I became much more aware of how I took care of myself.
When cancer strikes and the body is cut, poisoned and/or irradiated, the sympathetic nervous system’s “fight/flight” response engages and moves blood away from systems like digestion and the detoxifying liver in order to feed muscles and sensory systems. So, self-care practices like meditation or yoga can help relax the body, increasing the para-sympathetic nervous system response: deepen breathing, increasing focus and allowing blood flow to return to organs which can assist the body’s functioning when dealing with or healing from cancer treatments.
One calming self-care practice is massage. After all, what is more relaxing than laying on a massage table, under soft, warm covers with soothing music playing or a little fountain gurgling? It’s a self-care practice intended to help put a person squarely in the para-sympathetic nervous-system as well as to help optimize functioning of key internal organs. However, there is a lot of information (or mis-information) to sort through making massage and cancer confusing; or conversely, newly diagnosed patients are not even told what they need to know regarding cancer and massage, and unintentionally, they may place themselves at risk.
Did you know there is an entire subset of oncology massage therapist, with training specific to those who are in cancer treatment, or who have faced cancer? Did you know that trained oncology massage therapists can make many different modifications to adjust to a cancer diagnosis and make a massage safe? Did you know that the risk of triggering lymphedema unintentionally by massage never diminishes, even years after treatment?
Wellness Within founder Patti Brown interviewed one of the best certified oncology massage therapist in our area: Michelle Sanderson, CMT, CMLDT. In the interview, Patti and Michelle get down to the key information about why someone might want to seek out massage, how to find a certified oncology massage therapist, and important aspects of safety. It’s certainly worth a listen if you enjoy massage as a way of self-care, or if massage sounds like something you’d like to try to help with sleep, anxiety, and just relaxing your body while facing cancer. (Click HERE to listen to the part one of podcast interview.)
Whether massage, yoga, meditation, art or something else entirely, taking time for self-care is important. For me, it was part of my cancer journey to discover just how important and to prioritize and take the time to really care for myself. Additionally, I learned it was OKAY to take that time, with no guilt! And prioritizing my self-care didn’t mean I was shirking my responsibilities as a mom or an employee or any other role with which I identified. I didn’t disappear. But, when I prioritized my self-care more appropriately, I witnessed my boys become more enabled and empowered; and by delegating more, my employees developed their skills and I honestly believe most enjoyed the chance to have some additional responsibility and challenge. And me? During this time of trauma, I found more peace and relaxation. My body healed. I began to recover. And, I certainly learned a lot along the way.
Elizabeth Klein - Director of Community Outreach