Can Massage Spread Cancer?
The concern that increasing circulation via massage will cause the spread of cancer is unfounded. Cancer can spread with little or no activity, such as sleeping, breathing, eating, walking, etc. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that gentle, light or compassionate touch can be administered safely and effectively, provided that no direct pressure or massage is applied to the traumatized area affected by disease.
 
Light massage may actually have a protective effect, as it keeps the blood and lymph circulating. Touch may help prevent tumor proliferation, as it reduces the body's levels of glucocorticoids and cortisolÑhormonal measurements of the body's stress levels. Conversely, high levels of these substances in the body have been linked to tumor growth. 

Deep massage is always contraindicated in people with active cancer or undergoing chemotherapy or radiation. Massage only will tax a system already overloaded by the trauma of cancer and treatment, and it can induce an inflammatory response. Therefore, it can't be stressed enough that the therapist must take a good client history, adjust the depth of touch, and select the appropriate touch modality, with the individual client in mind. Cancer massage guidelines should always be top of mind.

Of Treatment Surgeries
Methods of treatment for breast cancer may be localized or systemic. Local treatment is used to remove, destroy or control cancer cells in a specific area. Surgery and radiation therapy are considered local treatment. Systemic treatments are used to destroy or control cancer cells throughout the body. Chemotherapy is an example of systemic treatments. Treatment choices and decisions are complex. The treatment choice will depend on the age and menopausal status of the woman, the general health of the client, the size, location and stage of the tumor, whether the doctor can feel lymph nodes, and the size of the breast. Surgery is the most common treatment for breast cancer.
 
The massage techniques selected will be individualized according to the magnitude of the surgical procedures. For example, a woman who received a Halsted procedure 20 years ago may experience decreased mobility and frozen shoulder because she has lost the pectoral muscles. Keloid scarring and disfigurement are not uncommon as plastic surgery and reconstructive procedures were not refined at that time. This is not necessarily true of all women.
 
The major techniques used most often now include:
Mastectomy. Surgical removal of one or both breasts. 
Radical Mastectomy. Surgery to remove all the breast, chest muscles the lymph nodes in the armpit. Also called the Halsted radical mastectomy, and was the only available surgery 20-plus years ago.

Modified Radical Mastectomy (also called the total mastectomy with axillary dissection). Surgical procedure in which the breast, some of the lymph nodes in the armpit, and the lining over the chest muscles are removed. 
Partial Mastectomy or Lumpectomy (also known as segmental, wide excision or quadrantectomy). Removal of the cancerous lump and some of the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor, while the breast is left intact. Some of the lymph nodes in the axilla will usually be removed.