Palliative Touch: Massage for People at the End of Life

With the support of palliative care and hospice a growing number of people are choosing the kinds of experiences they want at the end of life. Massage can offer moments of comfort, wellbeing, and beauty at a challenging time for patients and their loved ones, yet most of us are not prepared with the right skills or knowledge to offer this help.

Palliative Touch: Massage for People at the End of Life is written for healthcare providers and complementary therapists who wish to provide safe, comforting touch for people with life-limiting illness, as well as anyone who might wish to support a dying client or loved one to live life to the fullest, right up until the end. Based on more than two decades of field and inpatient hospice experience, this book addresses topics from common end-of-life symptoms and the stages of dying to cultural issues and how these can impact end-of-life care.

Readers are guided to engage with the material at whatever level might be appropriate for their needs, with practical tips in every chapter. Beautiful color photographs, actual case studies, and stories from therapists, caregivers, and patients bring this information to life.

Cindy Spence began her healthcare career as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Guatemala, returning to the US to complete a master’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina. She has been a massage therapist specializing in palliative care since 1999, after her father-in-law’s dying wish for gentle touch inspired her to attend massage school. Since that time Cindy has completed more than 6,000 hospice massages for people with advanced and terminal illness. With her teaching partner, Susan Gee, Cindy teaches Clinical Skills for End-of-Life Massage, a nationally certified course for massage therapists and nurses. She works at the T. Boone Pickens Center for Hospice and Palliative Care in Dallas.