Episode 18 – Innovative Oncology Massage Research with Jill Cole, MA, LMT, BCTMB

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Ep. 18 – Innovative Oncology Massage Research with Jill Cole, MA, LMT, BCTMB 

 

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About This Episode

In this episode of ‘Collaborative Connections,’ hosted by Ericka Clinton and sponsored by the Society for Oncology Massage and the Society for Oncology Esthetics, we feature Jill Cole, a licensed massage therapist and PhD candidate at the University of Kentucky.  

Jill shares her journey of becoming a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation and Health Science, focusing on her research in oncology massage, particularly a feasibility study she is conducting at the UK Healthcare Integrative Medicine and Health. She explains the crossover randomized control trial of massage therapy during cancer treatment and discusses the importance and challenges of touch therapy research.  

Throughout the conversation, Jill emphasizes the need for more biological and large-scale studies in the field and how empirical evidence can support the growth of the massage therapy profession. She highlights the collaborative nature of research and the critical role of massage therapists in advancing the profession through evidence-based practices.  

 

Topics discussed:  

  • Innovative oncology massage research 
  • Understanding the feasibility study framework 
  • Effects of massage on pain and anxiety 
  • Benefits of interdisciplinary PhD programs 
  • Importance of touch therapy research 
  • Research and growth in massage therapy 

 

Timestamps: 

00:00 Introduction 

05:18 “Collaborative Connections: Oncology Massage Insights” 

08:10 PhD Journey in Rehabilitation Research 

12:05 Cancer Patient Care Feasibility Study 

16:31 Challenges in Massage Therapy Research 

18:38 Massage: Lack of Biological Research 

23:03 “Feasibility of Expanding Research” 

27:38 Reviving Massage Therapy Research 

28:43 Gratitude and Importance of Research 

 

More About Jill Cole, MA, LMT, BCTMB 

Jill Cole is a hospital-based oncology massage therapist and the Massage Therapy Coordinator at UK Integrative Medicine & Health. She has worked in the field of massage as a clinician, educator, presenter and researcher for more than two decades. 

Cole graduated from the Boulder College of Massage Therapy in Colorado in 1998 and is currently working toward her PhD in rehabilitative science at the University of Kentucky. 

 

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