Evan Lillian Jeary, RMT

Evan is a graduate of the Victoria West Coast College of Massage Therapy. She has grown her practice throughout the Victoria area since becoming registered in 2005. In 2020 Evan joined the disciplinary committee of the College of Massage Therapists of BC and has found a view of the profession from the regulatory perspective to be an enriching experience. After completing a certificate in Adult and Continuing Education at the University of Victoria, Evan opened La Mer ScarCare clinic in 2024; a home “by the sea” for scar treatment and training. Stay tuned for mentorship program details.

Evan’s 20-year clinical focus has been scar tissue management, treating all manner of scars including mastectomy, abdominal/pelvic, orthopedic, C-section, reconstructive, cancer and traumatic injury. She maintains a strong referral network with post-operative health care professionals in the community and at the BC Cancer Agency. She has taught myofascial and scar tissue techniques to students at the college level and to fellow RMTs as continuing education.

Scar mobilization is a work of passion for Evan, who is continually humbled by the ability of the body to heal and privileged to assist people on their journey through medical trauma to a greater quality of life. Evan is committed to safe, effective, ethical and inclusive health care that is trauma aware.

When not in the clinic, Evan can be found exploring the beaches and islands of the Salish Sea with her family and their Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.

Feel free to contact directly with any questions regarding scar treatment or training.

As seen in Seaside Magazine, March 2022:

SeasideMagazine

The Beauty of Scar Tissue

by Evan Lillian Jeary, RMT

When I was in my final year of massage therapy training, I began a case study with a new patient who was experiencing a restricted shoulder and intense itch following a mastectomy seven years prior. My case study hypothesis was that massage could diminish these symptoms with the use of connective tissue techniques. Several months later after regular treatments the results were unexpected for both of us.

As we mobilized the taut tissue, restoring hydration and elasticity to the connective tissue, her itch began to subside. The contours of the surgical site that were puckered, thick and holding the reconstructed tissue askew, began to ease their grip, revealing a more uniform appearance. With each treatment she remarked on a reduction in nerve sensations down the arm and an increase in reach and grasp strength. The itch, that would wake her nightly and distract her daily, continued to ease. An eager student, I transferred this data to graphs and charts to demonstrate my findings that I was pleased to see were supporting my hypothesis. But about mid way through the study something shifted.

She cautiously told me of a growing sense of self throughout the treatment area. Since her cancer diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and struggles with all the side effects that followed, she had stopped thinking of the area as being part of her. She had dissociated from the mastectomy site. But lately her body was feeling more and more familiar. She was starting to wear her hair up again because she could comfortably reach overhead. She no longer feared cutting herself shaving since the contours of her axilla were now mobile and flexible. The reconstructed tissue was starting to move as she moved and take on a more natural shape. And then one day she looked me in the eye and said, “I feel like this is part of me now.” We sat together with that for awhile and I have not been the same since.

Over my 17 years since becoming registered, I have focused my practice on scar tissue and my patients have taught me a lot. I have learned that feeling adrift with unexpected side effects after medical intervention, is the norm, not the exception. I have learned that when a person enters the room for a scar tissue treatment they are bringing trauma with them; that mobilizing tissue in an area of trauma takes time, space and care; that people are never the same after their trauma experiences. Most profoundly, I have learned that there is beauty in scar tissue, as it can forever mark the transformation of trauma into a new sense of self. It has been a privilege to be witness to this process countless times over the years with people that have graciously trusted me with their vulnerability and their authenticity.

I certainly didn’t expect to find beauty in scar tissue when I embarked on my massage therapy career but it continues to be the reason I show up for my patients every day, including my original case study patient who I still see from time to time.