Lymphatic drainage massage

[MareeM]

Hi everyone, just thinking out loud with my friend about whether lymphatic drainage massage would be any help for us, or a relaxation method or poking the tiger? My friend is adamant that it would help but…… don’t see my Haematologist till the end of the month when I will ask his opinion.

[AussieNeil Partner Administrator]

MareeM,

From past discussions, you'll find that while there is concern about massaging for solid cancers, healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo... given CLL cells are already distributed throughout our blood and lymphatic circulatory systems, it's not likely to change matters unless we are in the early stages of SLL, with only one or a few nodes involved. So enjoy the relaxing feeling of being massaged.

Neil

[Notmuchenergy]

from personal experience, I had a normal reflexology session ( designed to clear the lymphatic system) when I was newly diagnosed which left me feeling extremely exhausted for several days. I didn’t go back.

However years later I attended a cancer care place where all the therapists had been trained to only touch patients in a very light manner and this made me feel fine afterwards.

[Ellieoak]

Yes get a massage, explain to the therapist that you need a swedish massage , nothing rougher. it should make you feel wonderful. It will not do anything for the swollen lymph nodes but you will feel better.

[Bluebird0]

I’m curious what your hematologist said about the lymphatic drainage massage. I was suffering from low levels of pain in several areas almost 24/7. Three weeks ago I made an appointment for an hour-long lymphatic drainage massage and the pain was gone that day, but returned later the next day. I’ve been going once a week and now I rarely have the pain. The therapist (who also has CLL) had suggested six weeks in a row. I plan to do that followed by once a month for three months. My fatigue and mental health have also been greatly improved since I started the massages. It’s a full body, very light touch massage. So glad I gave it a try!