Massage for Cancer-Related Symptoms: Pain, Nausea, Fatigue and Anxiety

What guidelines and reviews say about massage for cancer-related pain, fatigue, nausea and anxiety, how weak many trials are, and why your oncology team should be told first.

Content last updated October 22, 2026. This page has not been medically reviewed.

Many cancer centers offer massage to help with comfort. This page covers what guidelines and trials say about massage for pain, fatigue, nausea and anxiety in people with cancer. Massage is an add-on for comfort. It does not treat cancer, and it never replaces cancer treatment or advice from your oncology team.

Before anything else

Tell your oncology team before booking any massage, and ask what is safe for you right now. Sources describe areas and situations that need care: open wounds, rashes, bruises, sites of deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in a deep vein) or pulmonary embolism, a tumor or surgical site, and areas near a port or drain. [1] Radiation-treated skin can be sensitive. [1] With a very low platelet count (the blood cells that help clotting), the Oncology Nursing Society says extreme caution is needed. [1] Deep massage may not suit some people with multiple bone metastases because of the risk of fractures. [1] A patient encyclopedia also lists a bleeding disorder, low platelets or blood thinners as reasons to check first. [2]

Urgent signs: a swollen, painful leg or sudden chest pain or breathlessness may be a clot. The NHS says to call 999 (in the US, 911) and not drive yourself. [3] Do not book a massage until a clinician has looked at it.

What guidelines say

The 2022 Society for Integrative Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guideline on pain says massage may be recommended for patients with pain during palliative or hospice care. [4] It lists acupuncture, reflexology or acupressure as options for general cancer or musculoskeletal pain. [4] These recommendations rest on an intermediate level of evidence with moderate strength of recommendation. [4]
The 2017 Society for Integrative Oncology guideline for breast cancer recommends massage, among other approaches, for depression and mood disorders. [5] It also notes that many integrative practices remain understudied. [5]

We could not read the Society for Integrative Oncology and ASCO guideline on anxiety and depression in full, so we do not summarize it here.

What trials and reviews found

Evidence label: promising but limited. Pain and anxiety results are the most consistent; findings for nausea and fatigue are mixed or based on small trials. Most studies compared massage with usual care or waiting, which cannot be blinded, so comfort and expectation count for a lot.

Symptom	What the sources found	Strength
Pain	A 2025 review of 36 trials (3671 people) found less pain after massage (pooled SMD -0.51), but all outcomes had very low certainty and most studies had unclear or high risk of bias. [6] A 2023 meta-analysis of 13 trials (1000 patients) also found pain relief. [7]	Promising but limited; very low certainty
Pain, advanced cancer	In a trial of 298 people with advanced cancer, weekly massage or acupuncture for 10 weeks, with monthly booster sessions up to 26 weeks, both reduced pain, and the difference between them was not significant. [8] There was no no-treatment group.	Promising but limited
Anxiety	The 2025 review found lower anxiety after massage (pooled SMD -0.38), again with very low certainty. [6]	Promising but limited
Fatigue	A review of 10 trials in breast cancer survivors found a positive effect, but most studies had weak design, including inadequate blinding. [9] A 245-study comparison of non-drug options reported massage among several with moderate-to-large effects on fatigue during treatment, with a wide uncertainty range. [10]	Promising but limited
Nausea	One trial of 82 people having strongly nausea-causing chemotherapy found less nausea, vomiting and retching after foot massage. [11] A Cochrane review found no differences in nausea, fatigue or several other outcomes compared with no massage, in very low quality evidence. [12]	Mixed; insufficient evidence

Why the answers differ

The Cochrane review included 19 studies of very low quality with 1274 participants and downgraded the quality of evidence for all outcomes to very low. [12] Reviews from 2023 and 2025, which included more recent trials, were more positive on pain. [7][6] Differences in massage type, session length, who delivered it and what the comparison group received make it hard to compare studies. We cannot say how long benefits last beyond the trial periods.

Lymphedema and specialist care

Manual lymphatic drainage is a specialized, light, rhythmic form of massage that has been studied for arm swelling after breast cancer. [1] It belongs with a trained lymphedema clinician. See lymphedema care and complete decongestive therapy.

Questions to ask your care team

Is massage safe with my current blood counts, treatment and any port or surgical site?
Which areas should be avoided, and should the pressure stay light?
Should the therapist have training in cancer care? See oncology massage: what it is and training.

Massage and cancer: what to tell your therapist, massage in cancer care and palliative care and massage safety and contraindications.

Frequently asked questions

Is massage safe during cancer treatment?

Often yes when adapted, but only after telling your oncology team. The Oncology Nursing Society says to take care around wounds, clots, surgical sites, ports and low platelets. [1]

Does massage reduce cancer pain?

Reviews found less pain, but with very low certainty and mostly unblinded trials. [6]

Can massage help with chemotherapy nausea?

One small trial of foot massage found less nausea, while a Cochrane review found no differences in nausea versus no massage. Evidence is insufficient. [11][12]

Does massage help with cancer-related fatigue?

A review of breast cancer survivors found a positive effect but with weak study designs. [9]

Can massage spread cancer or treat it?

We did not find a source we could read that shows either. Massage is not a cancer treatment. Ask your oncology team about any specific concern.

More details: evidence, limits and cautions

The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.

Side effects

Where adverse events were reported, they were mild. In the advanced cancer trial, transient soreness affected 15.1% of people receiving massage. [8] In the 2023 meta-analysis, 4 of 13 studies reported adverse events and all reported none. [7] Many trials did not report adverse events at all. [12] Reviews of massage in general conclude that serious harm is uncommon. [13] Massage by a licensed therapist is generally considered safe by the Oncology Nursing Society, with pressure adjusted after assessment of the person's clinical status. [1]

References

Education, not medical advice. This page is for general information. It does not diagnose or treat any condition and is not a substitute for care from a qualified health professional. Natural does not automatically mean safe. Ask a clinician or pharmacist before changing your care, especially if you take medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a health condition.