Ericka Clinton [00:00:00]:
Good day, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Collaborative Connections, a space for sharing and learning sponsored by the Society for Oncology Massage and the Society for Oncology Aesthetics. My name is Erica Clinton, and I will be your host for this episode. On today’s podcast, we have Daniella Pansieri, regional champion from Italy. Daniela has been a massage therapist for the last eight years. And since 2019, most of her work is focused in oncology and palliative care. And we wanted to spotlight her today because she’s doing a lot of amazing things in the field of oncology massage, particularly in her home country of Italy, and we wanted to have her share with us some of those really exciting things that are happening for her. So thank you, Daniella, for taking the time to join us today.

Ericka Clinton [00:01:02]:
I really appreciate it.

Daniela Panzeri [00:01:04]:
Thank you, Erica, too. It’s a pleasure to be here with you today.

Ericka Clinton [00:01:09]:
Wonderful. First, let’s just have our listeners get to know you a little bit more. Can you tell us a little bit about your work in Italy? I think besides oncology, you work also in palliative care as well with your practice. So what is what is your work like?

Daniela Panzeri [00:01:30]:
Okay. Thank you. So, well, I’m basically focused on palliative care since 02/2022 when I came to The to Italy after being living in The Netherlands for eight years. And I discovered palliative care when I came here working with people hospitalized in palliative units in hospice. And I discover also at the end of life, not only people affected by cancer, but also people affected by dementia and neurological disease like sclerosis multiple or, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the ALS, and, also people that are suffering, from chronic pain that were hospitalized for a couple of week to find a new treatment of medicine that can be useful to stay to allow them to stay home, not suffering a lot from, from these things. And, palliative care is also an important unit in Italy because sometimes people makes an association from palliative care to the end of life, but it’s not the same. What I discover is that people, were treated in the hospice looking at the quality of life. You know that, Dame Cicely Saunders was one of the founder of palliative care in England, and then she say that, people left in the hospice need to be treated not to give them day of life, but to give them life to the days that and that’s what we basically focus on our unit.

Daniela Panzeri [00:03:16]:
Currently, I work for three hospice, and we are in the region of Romania in the province of. What is my experience is that people suffering from cancer or not have the same effect of, oncology massage and palliative touch. There is a so simple touch, so gentle touch that makes them completely different after receptions of five or ten minutes of massage because sometimes it’s not expected. So they say, okay. It’s that interrupt our daily routine in hospice. So you are welcome to do that, but also a sort of expectation that, we can bring something new, something that can relax, but also is pain. And what’s happened always is that they smile or they sleep for one hour, two hours, or three hours, depends on, people. And, yes, I’m very happy to to do this work because, it seems not a job, but it’s in submission because sometimes I feel that after one touch or after two or three carers, people fall asleep.

Daniela Panzeri [00:04:37]:
And the simple touch that we do and then makes people so feeling good.

Ericka Clinton [00:04:43]:
Yes. It’s amazing. And I I think that’s very common amongst all of us who do this work that it doesn’t feel like a job. It really feels like something more important than that, like a mission and a true calling for for many of us who who work in these settings. Is it is it in the in the palliative care and hospice units where you work, is it common to have a massage therapist?

Daniela Panzeri [00:05:12]:
No. I’m the only one. And that’s, yeah, that’s amazing. And then I am the only one. And then in two hospice, I came for two days per week. And in one hospice, I came only for one day. But sometimes I feel a part of the, because people sometimes thinks that I’m not recognized as an health care professional. There’s always an interaction within the team, with nurse, with doctors, with the physiotherapists, the psychologist, and, we help each other to give, people an amazing experience in hospice.

Daniela Panzeri [00:05:51]:
The last year that we have a session of the musical therapy and music therapy and massage together, and it was amazing and and experience amazing experience too because people, doesn’t expected that they have they are in hospice, and then they feel like in a spa.

Ericka Clinton [00:06:10]:
That’s wonderful. I think it’s always really exciting when the different types of therapies can come together and and work in the same space. And I really have seen that music therapy can enhance the massage experience so much more. So that’s wonderful. Did you did you seek out this work, or did the the hospices find you? Right? You were the only person working there. I’m like, were you the go getter who just was like, you need me, and I can show you what I can do. Or did you get a reputation that people were like, you need to work at this place, and and we’ll figure that out?

Daniela Panzeri [00:06:53]:
When I got my certificate in The Netherlands, I always think that I had to bring the professional as an oncology massage therapist in Italy. So I was busy in for two years, searching something, in Italy, And then I came in contact with the, yeah, with YARH, the Institute of Oncological Romagnolo. It is a sort of oncological institute that provide research and provide service for oncology patients that, yeah, in, Romania. And with them, I knew, the doctor the doctors, in the office, and they asked me to work with them. So, basically, I was not called to do this work in Italy, but I think that the the reputation that I have as a part of the Society for Oncology Massage give me a sort of official recognize recognition, of my profession. And I start working for two association, basically, in, two of the third sector association in Italy. And I feel very happy to do this job with them because they give me the opportunity to expand also the the network.

Ericka Clinton [00:08:14]:
That’s wonderful. That’s amazing. So how did you hear about s four zero one?

Daniela Panzeri [00:08:22]:
Yeah. I heard about the s when I was doing the the course in, in The Netherlands. The director of Ecological Institute of Cancer, Estelle Smits, who is also one of most important members in Europe, told us that she was talking about the program as an official provider of education, research in our field, and it was attracted by this program. And then I say, okay. Maybe it’s becoming a a member of the society that can that I can reach more people and expand the activity in my country.

Ericka Clinton [00:09:03]:
That’s wonderful. And so has that happened? Has being a preferred practitioner kind of helped you extend your reach in in Italy?

Daniela Panzeri [00:09:13]:
Yeah. Exactly. Now as a preferred practitioner and Italian regional champion, I’m in contact with a different kind of association. Basically, esthetician is the same path that you are, stepping to the Yes. Expedition in America. And then we are looking for a collaboration together. It’s something difficult, but I trust my fingers that we can make a read something together.

Ericka Clinton [00:09:44]:
Yes. That’ll be wonderful. You know, when we embarked on embracing oncology aesthetics, we really had no idea the extent of the work that oncology aestheticians do. And when we researched it, it was kind of amazing of all the support that they provide oncology patients. And so the kind of the coming together of the two professions just made sense. Right? We support the idea of, you know, treating the whole person, and everybody has an area of expertise that really can benefit someone who’s going through cancer treatment. So I I will keep my fingers crossed as well for you to be able to bridge that gap, and I think it’ll be it’ll be wonderful as well just in terms of getting people to understand what what you actually do and how much the work supports people. So you’re our regional champion in Italy, our sole regional champion in Italy, which is amazing and exciting.

Ericka Clinton [00:10:47]:
And, hopefully, there will be more regional champions in the country as as things expand. But what’s it like being a regional champion for you?

Daniela Panzeri [00:10:57]:
I think that the regional champion gave me the opportunity to be always engaged for education because sometimes, you feel, alone even if you don’t have people that can provide you the actual news or actual education about oncology massage and, about oncology in general and to discover more people and then, talk with them if you have any problem. This is sort of network also based on experience that we have, and it’s very nice to hear the podcast to hear about how the news, in oncology and massage in America. Because here in Europe, we look always American doing the research and activities because we are following the same path.

Ericka Clinton [00:11:45]:
Yes. So I heard that you’re writing a book.

Daniela Panzeri [00:11:51]:
Yeah. That’s great. Yes.

Ericka Clinton [00:11:54]:
That’s amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about your book? Like, what is it about? Who’s the book for, essentially?

Daniela Panzeri [00:12:02]:
Yeah. I wrote a book, last year. I starting on, reading a book of Emmanuel Exitus that’s brought, in Italy, a book about Dame Cicely Saunders. And then I took the inspiration to give patients a voice to share their story even if they were being massaged by me. The stories sometimes were difficult to be tell told, but the story sometimes came is in a flow. So I was thinking, about the people, and then the story comes flow from my from my mind very quickly. And I did it basically to let people know about oncology massage, and I did it about the four people, the treatments of oncology, oncology treatment and or people that are interesting in oncology, basically, also health care professionals, but post massage therapies and investigations. I think that it’s a good point to reach people because sometimes we continue the looking to the statistic, to numbers, and that the stories feel more than the numbers.

Daniela Panzeri [00:13:19]:
And I hope that book will be published by this year. We don’t know yet. But, yeah, I

Ericka Clinton [00:13:26]:
know Congratulations.

Daniela Panzeri [00:13:28]:
Cross team dancers for that. Yeah.

Ericka Clinton [00:13:32]:
Congratulations. That’s amazing. That’s amazing. And that’s such a wonderful thing to, you know, put people’s stories on paper. Right? Because then they’re kind of timeless. They live a lot longer than the person may, and they give the rest of us who read those an opportunity to bear witness to that person’s experience. And I think, you know, to give people a voice who maybe aren’t listened to so much is is a really amazing thing. So that’s very, very exciting.

Ericka Clinton [00:14:10]:
And I really, really hope that it it gets published this year and then, you know, maybe even gets published in English so that some of us across the pond can read it. But that’s wonderful. And then, you know, we have translation programs, so we’ll work it out if we need to. But that’s gonna be really that’s gonna be really exciting. So I guess my last question, you’ve got the book coming. You’re doing amazing work in in your community at three different locations. Are there any other goals in the immediate feature for you?

Daniela Panzeri [00:14:45]:
Yes. I this year, I became a member of the Italian Society of Palliative Care. And I go with the team doctors engaged in integrative medicine to expand also the knowledge of oncology massage, to them and then to reach health care professionals because we know that people, nurses, or professionals, like operators, knows more about aromatherapy, massage therapy. It could be very interesting for them to know more about oncology massage and palliative production because they can also doing that during their work and getting support to people at the end of lives.

Ericka Clinton [00:15:35]:
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. So just kind of, again, spreading the word and the work in a really positive way. And that’s really exciting. I’m assuming the Italian Society of Palliative Care is mostly physicians and doctors. So bringing you into that that environment must be really, really exciting, and I’m I’m so glad that they are interested in in what you bring to the table, which is just gonna mean more acceptance and, honestly, more work for other people. So I hope you’re also thinking about training some other folks in doing this kind of work.

Daniela Panzeri [00:16:18]:
I hope too.

Ericka Clinton [00:16:21]:
Well, it was a real pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much for your time. It’s just really wonderful to hear about the work that you’re doing and all of the new and exciting things that are happening for you. So, again, I’m gonna say congratulations and thank you again.

Daniela Panzeri [00:16:39]:
Thank you to Ericash.

Ericka Clinton [00:16:41]:
Alright, collaborators. Have a great day, and I hope you enjoyed today’s podcast.