FOCUS ON HEALTH:

A soothing touch and sense of inner peace is what volunteer therapists at Spa Gregorie’s in Newport Beach hope to impart to their cancer patients.

Massage therapist and co-founder Johnette du Rand started Spa Gregorie’s Greet the Day program in 2003, offering patients undergoing chemotherapy complimentary spa treatments at a four-hour “Spa Day Retreat” at one of their locations.

The spa works with physicians and oncologists at cancer treatment centers, and patients must have a referral from the center along with a doctor’s release before they may participate in the spa day program.

Treatments begin with relaxation and guided imagery exercises, and continue with a choice of a massage or facial, followed by lunch.

The spa selects one day a month for its retreat day and can treat only eight patients.

Due to space restrictions and the limited number of patients they were able to bring in to the spa for treatments, du Rand said Spa Gregorie’s decided to bring massage therapy to the patients.

In August 2006, Greet the Day expanded its community outreach by adding the Chemo Comfort-Touch program.

Oncology-trained massage therapists now volunteer their time on site at chemotherapy infusion centers, giving hand and foot massages to patients while they are undergoing treatment.

According to du Rand, a growing body of clinical data supports the use of massage in improving both the quality of life and the experience of chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients.

The spa requires massage therapists who would like to volunteer in the Chemo-Comfort Touch program to attend a two-day Greet The Day Oncology Massage education program, offered three times annually at the Patty and George Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach

Each participant must be either a licensed massage therapist or registered nurse to take the class, and upon completion is certified as an oncology massage therapist by the Board of Registered Nursing and the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Body Work.

Spa Gregorie’s 15 trained oncology massage therapists try to visit infusion centers on their busiest days in order to treat as many patients as possible, and spend approximately 20 minutes with each one.

The smallest center has 14 chemotherapy chairs, and the largest has 27, du Rand said.

Therapists usually follow a protocol, waiting until the medical staff has set up the chemotherapy infusion before they begin massage therapy.

But there are exceptions.

“One of the oncology staff was trying to access a patient’s vein [to begin the infusion], but the vein had collapsed,” du Rand said.

“The nursing assistant asked me to begin the massage first, and though it was out of protocol, because they were having so much trouble, I began the 20 minutes of treatment then.”

Du Rand placed her hands on the patient’s legs before she began, to connect and help her relax, and tears began rolling down the woman’s cheeks right away.

“There’s a moment of peace in the chaos of cancer,” du Rand said.

Lisa Belden and Joyce Kassouf receive chemotherapy treatments at the office of Micah Rettenmaier in Newport Beach, and each has benefited from the massage therapy provided by Spa Gregorie’s volunteers.

Belden said the therapists work on each patient for at least 20 minutes, and they try to get to everyone in the room.

“It’s nice when they are there. Touch has such a powerful sense of healing, reassuring you that it’s going to be OK and helping you relax. I absolutely look forward to it,” Belden said. “The whole chemotherapy experience is horrible, and they make it as enjoyable as it can be.”

Kassouf suffers from a loss of sensation in her fingers and feet, and said it’s nice to have the foot massage during her treatments.

“It takes you out of yourself; it’s an oasis of peaceful calm,” she said, adding that the conversation and interaction is pleasant and reassuring also.

As a nurse, and a lifelong volunteer, Kassouf appreciates the time the therapists are willing to donate.

Greet the Day’s mission is to improve quality of life for people affected by cancer through education, therapeutic bodywork and restorative touch, du Rand said, but she believes that something special happens for both people — the therapist and the patient — during the massage therapy sessions.

“It’s impossible to say who gets the most benefit from the program.”

For information on Spa Gregorie’s Greet the Day programs, call (949) 644-6672 or go to www.greettheday.org.

SUE THOENSEN may be reached at (714) 966-4627 or at sue.thoensen@latimes.com.