Post-White, J., Kinney, M. E., Savik, K., Gau, J. B., Wilcox, C., & Lerner, I. (2003). Therapeutic massage and healing touch improve symptoms in cancer. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2, 332–344.

All participants received four weekly 45-minute sessions of therapeutic massage (MT), healing touch (HT), or presence (P) and four weekly sessions of a standard care control. Credentialed practitioners who were also registered nurses delivered MT and HT. The three interventions all included music, a centering message, and a message to focus on breathing and letting go of extraneous thoughts. The order of the conditions was randomized. MT included a written Swedish massage protocol using massage gel. For HT, the protocol developed by Healing Touch International was used, and touch and nontouch techniques were used. Energy techniques used included centering, unruffling, magnetic unruffling, full-body connection, mind clearing, chelation, and lymphatic drain to modulate the energy field. For P, participants lied on a table listening to relaxing music. An MT or HT therapist sat with the participant during the session. The purpose was to be attentive and caring but to avoid therapy or physical intervention. In the control group, symptoms and vital signs were assessed.

• Of the 230 adults who consented to participate, 164 completed all eight sessions.
• Of those who completed the study, mean age was 54.7 years, 87% were female, 98% were Caucasian, and 68% were married.
• The majority had stage III or IV disease, and 52% had breast cancer.
• Mean time since diagnosis was 17.4 months.
• All participants rated fatigue, pain, anxiety, or nausea as greater than 3 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Patients were from two outpatient chemotherapy clinics in the Midwest.

Patients were undergoing the active treatment phase of care.

This was a randomized, two-period crossover (between one of the interventions and standard care) study.

• Profile of Mood States (POMS) for fatigue
• Blood pressure
• Heart rate
• Respiratory rate
• Pain
• Nausea
• Medication use
• Anxiety
• Mood disturbance
• Satisfaction

Compared to the control group, there was no effect of presence on fatigue. When comparing individual interventions to their matched control periods, the effect of MT on fatigue was close to significance (p = 0.057). HT was found to reduce fatigue (p = 0.028).

There was no clear evidence that one intervention was superior to the other, but MT and HT seemed to be more effective than presence alone or standard care in improving fatigue.

• Interventions also included centering, breathing, and music, which may confound the results.
• The commitment to complete the study was great, and the dropout rate was high.
• Cross-over designs may be more appropriate for healthy participants or those with earlier stage disease.
• The study design was complex. There was no blinding, there was variability in the research assistant and practitioners collecting assessments, and there was variation in the intervention technique.
• A greater number of participants assigned to the presence group dropped out due to treatment preference.
• A registered nurse certified in massage or healing touch therapy is required.