Course Summary

Jennifer Young’s cancer awareness diploma is an awareness training designed to give spa therapists, beauty practitioners and healthcare workers the background knowledge around spa and beauty treatments for cancer patients.

We know, through evidence-based research, that when someone is going through cancer treatment, living with cancer or recovering from it, touch treatments can have a powerful physical, mental and emotional impact on health and wellbeing. Benefits can range from reduced anxiety, reduced pain and reduced nausea to reduced depression and increased dopamine levels, as well as practical improvements to some of the physical side effects of cancer treatment.

This course from the Jennifer Young Training School uses online learning to give you an understanding of the biology of cancer, the science of its treatments, the biological drivers of resulting side-effects, and the protocols and products available for delivering safe and dedicated treatments to clients with cancer.

Evidence for the benefits of oncology touch therapy treatments

Short-term benefits

• Reduced anxiety, depressed mood and anger in breast cancer patients
• Increased vigour (breast cancer patients)
• Reduced mood disturbances and perceived stress levels
• Improved sleep quality
• Improved quality of life (breast cancer patients)
• Reduced pain and improvement of mood, reduced stress levels
• Reduced perception of pain, nausea and increased relaxation after 10 minute (5 minute per foot) foot massage
• Pain intensity, pulse rate, and respiratory rate significantly reduced immediately after the massages. At study entry, the massage group reported higher pain intensity, which decreased by 42% (25% reduction in the control group)
• Reduced anxiety scores, depression, general fatigue, reduced motivation fatigue, and emotional fatigue
• Reduced depression and improved sleep
• Reduced heart rate and lower blood pressure
• Decrease in physical discomfort, group fatigue, and mood disturbance.
  The effect of massage on mood disturbances was greater when treated continuously by the same therapist

Long-term benefits 

• Reduced depression and hostility, increased urinary dopamine, serotonin values, natural killer cell number and lymphocytes in breast cancer patients
• Reduced mood disturbances and perceived stress levels (breast cancer patients)

Full references are provided as standard in Jennifer Young Training materials.