The joy of giving relief and comfort to people in pain has long been part of Donna Schiller's life. At age 8, Schiller's grandmother showed her how to massage, in hopes of gaining reprieve from the pain of arthritis. "She had really bad arthritis in her shoulders, and she thought if I would rub them they might feel better," Schiller said. "Sure enough, it worked, and I gave her a massage every Saturday." Rewarded with the gratitude of her grandmother, Schiller took healing touch into her own adult life. As a volunteer at the Chicago Women's AIDS Project  , one of the ways she comforted sick women was to offer informal massage. "There was a student from the Chicago School of Massage Therapy who was doing part of her outreach there, and she encouraged me to go to school for this," Schiller said. "When I turned 40, I decided to do that." Prior to massage school, Schiller - who has a master's degree in public health - had worked full time in the realm of research, doing clinical trials with cancer and AIDS patients at hospitals in and around Chicago. After graduating from Chicago School of Massage Therapy, Schiller continued to work with cancer patients. This time, however, the work was of the hands-on variety. "These cancer patients taught me how to give massage to a fragile population," she said. "They told me what felt good, where they wanted to be touched, and I learned from my clients." Schiller brought these gentle bodywork skills along as she moved toward her current career, providing healing touch to hospice patients. The progression occurred quite naturally, as several of Schiller's clients with cancer had invited the massage therapist into their homes, to give comforting touch as their lives came to a close. "It's a joyful way to provide a sacred space for people in a really, really difficult time," she said. "I can't tell you how honored I am when people invite me into their homes, and they are just so gracious." Schiller began working for Rainbow Hospice as a volunteer massage therapist more than four years ago. The service was wildly popular with both patients and staff, and she now works 30 hours a week and receives employee benefits. Rainbow hired another massage therapist to work the remaining 10 hours of the week, and they hope to hire additional therapists next year, to meet the demand for massage from patients and staff. "Healing touch benefits hospice patients in so many ways," Schiller said. "It's that caring, comforting touch." Aside from providing comfort, massage in the hospice setting may help relieve pain, decrease stress, reduce anxiety, alleviate depression and fulfill the basic human need for touch, which is often sorely lacking at the end of life. Schiller said her case load is typically about 65 clients, each of whom she sees once or twice a month for an average of 45 minutes. The type of touch she provides depends on the individual's preference and health status. "People are at different places in this phase of their life," Schiller said. "Some are higher functioning and can actually withstand deeper work." Others, such as clients with boney metastases , require a far lighter touch. Schiller is certified in Compassionate Touch and has taken classes in techniques such as lymphatic drainage , Trager work and Therapeutic Touch , so she has several gentle skills to help soothe hospice patients. "This work is not only about touch, but it's also about presence," she said, "just being with them 100 percent and giving yourself to them completely during a vulnerable and emotionally charged time." ? In 2005, Cancer Control reported massage therapy effectively reduced stress and anxiety in cancer patients, with a promising outlook for pain control and management of other symptoms. ? Oncology patients show less pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and depression following massage therapy, according to a study by Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center , 2004, and a report in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship , 2002. ? Almost one in five adult Americans (19%) report discussing massage therapy with their doctors or healthcare providers. *American Massage Therapy Association 2008 Industry Fact Sheet. |
