The development of a massage service for cancer patients

Despite major technological advances in the treatment of cancer, many patients are dissatisfied with conventional biomedical interventions. This is largely because they fail to resolve long term intractable problems such as chronic pain or stress. More emphasis is now being placed on quality of life. This shift in attitude has opened the door for complementary therapies as adjuvants to traditional models of cancer care. Changes within the NHS have facilitated this transition, by the creation of the 'internal market' and the development of central funding to individual clinical directorates. To exploit these opportunities, complementary, therapists must develop new skills and be prepared to adopt NHS standards of assessment to evaluate the efficacy of their work. Standards are a component of 'Quality assurance'. They are observable, achievable and measurable, and contribute towards an acceptable evaluation process. Standards are used by health care purchasers to assess which therapies should be made available to patients within the NHS. This paper describes the development of a massage service that has been integrated into the Hammersmith Oncology Department. The massage standard is seen to be fundamental and essential to the continued development and evaluation of the project.