Medicine Hands

by Gayle MacDonald and Gayle MacDonald MS LMT

Book Overview

A practical book written for both health professionals and the lay person, this guide deconstructs the myths about massage and cancer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1899171770
• ISBN13: 9781899171774
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Findhorn Press
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.6" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent book, excellent instructor

The non-profit educational institution that I chair just hosted a three-day training for massage therapists with Gayle, and we were the first group to be taught using this newest edition of her book. I own the first edition and had devoured it cover-to-cover; this edition is a huge step up from that wonderful book. Gayle dispels myths about cancer and massage with science, and also gives the reader and practitioner many new tools and ways of working with people living with cancer, either preparing for treatment, undergoing it, and also for those several years out of treatment. The primary thing that I learned was just how much I *didn't* know about the cautions of people undergoing or who have undergone treatment for cancer. Both the training and the book have given me confidence that I can *safely* touch and work with every single person with compassion and gentleness. Her book also gives me a sharper understanding of working more intelligently with my clients who do not have cancer but who may be in a medically frail state, such as those in Hospice with whom we work in our practice. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this author, her book, and her teaching. This is a "must-buy" for all massage therapists and for anyone who is a professional touch therapist.

A wealth of information...

I found this book to be a true inspiration for me. I found out about it through one of the Massage magazines and I can honestly say it was one of the best and most important purchaces I made since I graduted from massage school in 1999. I have used it as a reference while doing volunteer as an LMT on the oncology unit at my local hospital and it was extremely helpful. Staff and students alike were very impressed with it when I showed it to them. The layout of this book is very user friendly and the appendixes and references in the back were excellent. I personally feel it's a good ideal to get further training related to the oncology in the clincal enviroment as far as massage concerned. Yet this book was also very clear as about the limitaions and contraindications which made me feel at ease. This book is an excellent starting point for thoes wishing to give care to people facing Cancer and is quite thorough in all topic covered. It can help the therapist, student therapist and/or caregiver understand the challenges and rewards of providing the gift of touch at a time when it maybe needed it most.

a wonderfully insightful book

As a massage therapist, I was trained that massage was generally contraindicated for cancer patients. Gayle does a wonderful job of explaining why massage is appropriate, the chemistry behind metastisis and the issues around massage treatment along the continuum of cancer treatment. It also has a chapter on death and dying that I recommend to many patients. I have made this a required text in the therapeutic massage program as our local community college.

Excellent book!

I was privileged to take a weekend seminar from Gayle MacDonald, and I purchased the book at that time. Her amazing compassion and caring are evident in every line of this book. If you have been told that massage is not appropriate for people living with cancer, this book will change your thinking. The book also gives a very good basic description of the process that cells go through to become cancerous, and de-mystifies some of the treatments that patients go through. Medicine Hands is a practical, down to earth book that is well worth reading. It is an excellent book for anyone living with cancer - in one's self or in a loved one.

Massage does ease physical & emotional pain.

The American Cancer Society has recently listed Massage as a form of releif of pain for cancer patients. This was a big step and Gayle MacDonald's book is the next step. Often times the touch that cancer patients are recieving is not comforting, it is only related to often painful treatment. To be touched by someone with a compasionate intent is amazing. Gayle exlpains that healing touch is not the ability of a person to literaly touch and cure someone, healing is a sense of peace, a pain free hour, quality of end of life. Gayle does an amazing job of getting thoughts and techniques out to help people wishing to become more educated in this area of massage. Gayle is sharing imortant knowledge and it is written in a way that a student, Massage Therapist of 10 years, or family member of someone with cancer can read and gain an amazing understanding of the best way to treat those with cancer.