Steve Gordon is a former journalist who left a 30-year career in that field to start The Hand to Heart Project in 2007. He began his training as a massage therapist in 1999, and early on, the cancer experiences of several people close to him helped shape his interest in oncology and end-of-life massage. His general massage therapy practice is balanced by working with people with advanced illness, both in private practice and in working with cancer patients and others at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

In the summer of 2006, while at DHMC, he visited a woman in her mid-30s who was about to be discharged home in Hospice. She had a painful form of bone cancer, and after about 20 minutes of massage, she breathed deeply and said: “For the first time in months, I don’t hurt anywhere.” She also said she couldn’t afford to have a massage therapist visit her at home.

With that inspiration, Steve talked to a friend with years of business experience who provided the encouragement and support that helped get The Hand to Heart Project up and running the following year. The project has grown steadily since then, thanks in large part to the work of its board of directors and to the financial support of many people and organizations.

Steve and his wife, Nora, live in Cornish, N.H.

The Hand to Heart Project is a program of NH-VT Palliative Services, a New Hampshire nonprofit corporation.

 

 

Members of the corporation's board of directors are:
Lynette Carsten of Springfield, Vt.
Leo McKenna of Windsor, Vt.
Debbie Johnson of Canaan, N.H.
Gene Lattuga of Cornish, N.H.
Steve Gordon of Cornish, N.H.