The Healing Arts Center (HAC), located at 10073 Manchester Road in St. Louis (63122) is offering anyone who is currently in treatment for cancer the opportunity to receive free massage therapy and/or Reiki services in their student clinic. Massage therapy can reduce the pain and discomfort that often arises from chemotherapy and radiation treatments and is highly effective in reducing the stress and anxiety that can arise from cancer treatment generally. Services are delivered at the HAC Cancer Clinic by senior honor students and graduates as part of a training program that educates massage therapists on how to contribute to cancer treatment. Student and graduate therapists are trained in the special concerns of massage therapy for cancer patients.
“I have treated cancer patients for years and can speak from personal experience that massage therapy and energy work provides rapid relief, in most cases, from the muscular pain and anxiety associated with cancer treatment. I have watched recipients of massage therapy come in dragging and leave feeling relieved and energized. It is one of the greatest gifts we can give those who suffer from cancer – the ability to have the quality of life return so that they may live and love on,” said master massage therapist Tom Tessereau, headmaster of The Healing Arts Center.
“We learned from cancer patients seeking out our services in our professional clinic that massage therapy and energy modalities like Reiki can have a profound impact on the quality of life for those afflicted with cancer,” David Kenyon, President, The Healing Arts Center, said. “One of my best friends with stage-four breast cancer comes here and we have been able to give her the ability to enjoy her children and her life even when treatment takes its ugly toll. When we saw that we could help cancer patients in a profound way by relieving some, if not all, of the pain that they develop from chemotherapy and could give them an opportunity to mentally break from the stress of cancer and cancer treatment, we decided to take this therapy to the streets.”
There are some prerequisites to receiving free massage therapy services in the HAC Cancer Clinic:
- The patient must be currently in treatment for cancer;
- The patient must have his or her oncologist approve the massage therapy services and provide information on limitations, if any.
Any person currently being treated for cancer can receive Reiki treatments in the HAC Cancer Clinic without consulting their oncologist. Reiki, a Japanese form of energy therapy, does not involve manipulation of tissue and is safe for everyone.
For more information, contact Terrie Yardley-Nohr at (314) 647-8080 or email at info@thehealingartscenter.com.
