The Reality of Our Work

Massage therapists in hospice care face undeniable challenges, including finding work, keeping work, and getting paid for what we do. Despite these challenges, the two of us have enjoyed more than 40 years of combined experience in this field.

Let’s talk about the challenges first. In the early years of our careers, neither of us managed to work directly with hospice. Instead, we found that doors were more open and clients more plentiful in the field of oncology massage. We sought training with the best teachers we could find. We spoke about the benefits of massage at cancer support group meetings, often providing demos of our work. We provided foot massage in chemo infusion rooms and chair massage at cancer 5Ks. Little by little, our work spoke for itself, and we began to receive referrals by word of mouth from satisfied customers.

Eventually, we found our way to hospice. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. One of us started as a volunteer, but found the travel to be too costly and burdensome to continue. One of us contracted with an agency that kept “losing” our invoices. We’ve both been let go – suddenly and painfully — due to budget constraints or new management that didn’t see the value of massage. Hospice is a competitive, fickle business.

And yet we stay with the work. Why?

We stay with the work because we simply can’t imagine anything we’d rather do with our time and our skills. This work is remarkable. Compelling. Awe-inspiring. In short, it’s the toughest job we’ll ever love.

A few survival strategies, if you feel the same way we do . . .
1. Don’t give up your day job, if you have one. That way, you’ll have something to fall back on.
2. Take a lesson from the clients we serve. Live in the present moment, knowing that change is part of life, and nothing lasts forever.
3. Accept that the venue of your work might change multiple times over the course of your career.

And yet . . .
There will always be people who are sick, people who are receiving hard news, people whose diseases can’t be cured. A large number of these people would love the gift of gentle touch. We just have to continue finding them.