You have found the massage therapy resource for Rochester, NY area residents who are living with cancer. Human Touch Initiative (HTI) is a 501 (c)3 not-for-profit organization. Our Oncology Massage Program, making massage accessible to those with a current cancer diagnosis for free or low-cost has been in action since October 2009.

The reason HTI exists is simple and best illustrated through the countless stories we hear from cancer patients when describing how their life changed the day they heard the words “we’ve found cancer”. Some say their breath was literally taken away and the hours and days that followed were terrifying. Those diagnosed with cancer are often consumed with worry about things like how to tell their children, whether they will be able to continue to work, and what their next test is going to reveal. They experience feeling a loss-of-control, anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, pain and many other emotional and physical symptoms and side affects as a result of cancer and it’s demanding treatments.

Massage is an integrative, non-invasive and nurturing approach to addressing these emotional and physical ways cancer patients may suffer. HTI was founded to make it more accessible, to increase public and medical practitioner awareness of its benefits and to help cancer patients find qualified therapists in the Rochester area. Continue reading…