What your doctor doesn’t know can hurt you.
From the Sunday Self-Care Chronicles | 7/13/25
This week’s Sunday Self-Care Chronicles dives into what happens when well-meaning doctors make massage referrals they’re not actually qualified to give—and why that can leave breast cancer survivors in more pain than they started with.
This week’s issue touches on:
✨ A real client story that highlights the risks of uninformed referrals
✨ The difference between “medical massage” and oncology massage
✨ What your providers might not know—and how to protect yourself anyway
✨ Why I created resources like my e-book, dry brush workshop, and Ask Amy sessions
Read the full email below - and if something speaks to you please feel free to comment, share, or reach out!
Hey gorgeous,
Last week I talked about how there are just some things you can’t really understand unless you’ve been there—like what it’s actually like to have had breast cancer.
That was the personal side of things.
This week, I want to flip the script and talk about something from the professional side—and it’s something I think you need to know:
There are things your doctor doesn’t know. (And sometimes they don’t even realize they don’t know them.)
Case in point: A client of mine came in this week after a massage session that left her in pain and totally discouraged.
Not with me—this was a referral her breast surgeon gave her.
The suggestion? Go get a “medical massage” to help with some scar tissue and fluid buildup under her arm following her double mastectomy with flat closure.
We’ve been working on this area already—it’s complicated.There’s scar tissue, an area of puckered skin that’s probably related to her lymph node dissection, and some stubborn swelling.
Progress is slow, but we’re moving in the right direction, safely and intentionally.
So she followed her surgeon’s recommendation. She booked the “medical massage.”
And what she got was… not good.
The therapist didn’t feel comfortable working on the surgical site at all—because they’d been trained to avoid anything cancer-related.
And the rest of the massage? Let’s just say my client described it as, “felt like she was trying to shove my kidneys through the front of my body.”
Not exactly the healing experience she was going for.
She left feeling worse than when she arrived. Not just physically—but emotionally.
She felt let down by the therapist, frustrated at her doctor, and confused about why nobody seemed to actually understand what she needed.
Because here’s the thing: when your doctor sends you somewhere specifically for a cancer-related issue, you assume they know what they’re talking about. That they’ve vetted the referral. That they get it.
But… most of the time? They don’t.
Doctors aren’t massage therapists. They don’t study this stuff.
They don’t know the difference between Swedish and deep tissue and oncology massage—let alone when it’s safe, when it’s helpful, or when it’s the absolute wrong choice.
And honestly? That’s okay. It’s not their job to know all of that.
But if they’re going to recommend it, especially for people in cancer care or recovery, then they damn well need to do some basic homework first.
Unfortunately, this is not a one-off story. I’ve seen this happen again and again over the years—doctors either recommending massage when it’s not safe, or warning people away from it altogether when it actually could help so much.
And let’s be clear: I’m not saying I know more than the surgeons and oncologists who treat cancer.
Their job is to remove it, reduce it, contain it.
My job is to support the person who went through all that.
To help them recover, reconnect with their body, and feel whole again.
And that’s a job that requires its own training, its own scope, its own experience—and a whole lot of nuance that often gets left out of the medical conversation.
Which is why I’ve created the resources I have.
Because this is exactly the kind of thing that drives me to write my e-book, to build out workshops like the dry brushing course, and to offer Ask Amy sessions—so you don’t have to just hope the person you’re seeing knows what they’re doing.
You deserve better than guesswork.
And if you’re ever stuck wondering, “Is this provider the right fit?” or “Is this safe for me right now?”—I’ve got you. That’s literally what those virtual sessions are for.
You deserve providers who see you, who understand the full picture, and who are committed to helping you heal—not just “get better.”
💭 Something to consider:
Just because someone wears a white coat or has the word “doctor” in their title doesn’t mean they understand what your body needs in recovery.
You’re allowed to ask questions. You’re allowed to say no. You’re allowed to get a second opinion—even on a referral.
💌 I’d love to hear from you:
Have you ever followed a provider’s recommendation and felt like it totally missed the mark? What did you do next—and what do you wish you’d known then?
Hit reply and let me know!
Today, tomorrow, and the next… I’m always in this with you.
ps. If you have a provider who’s open to learning, send them this blog post about oncology massage. You might be the reason someone else gets better care, too.
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