I have written blogs for OncoLink and articles for Conquer Magazine about the life-restoring benefits that cancer rehabilitation delivers to survivors like us. When I speak to other survivors, too often they ask me, “Why haven’t I ever heard of cancer rehabilitation?”
Cancer Rehabilitation Suffers from
a Misleading Name,
Low Awareness, and Over-Simplification
It sounds ridiculous but cancer rehab has a huge PR problem. First, there is that name, “cancer rehabilitation.” Cancer rehab sounds like something that happens after treatment, like rehab for a knee or a hip after replacement surgery, but the opposite is true. Cancer rehab is most helpful when survivors are tested for functional issues before cancer treatment even starts.
Oncology providers lack rehab awareness.
Your oncologists’ skill is in planning the best treatment plan. Day-to-day their focus is on making sure you can stick to the plan. Many oncologists do not know that treatment-induced impairments are most easily and effectively dealt with during treatment. This works best when rehab activities are interwoven into a comprehensive treatment plan.
For too many of us, exercise is just not possible, no matter how many times a provider tells you that exercise is beneficial.
The third obstacle is glossing over the many challenges of survivorship and the complexities of cancer rehab. In the last decade, the benefits of exercise for cancer survivors have been widely promoted. These benefits are real for survivors who are able to exercise and who have access to a safe and effective exercise program.
But for many survivors, cancer rehab is needed to address pre-existing health issues, functional impairments, and debilitating early effects of treatment such as fatigue, pain, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, lymphedema, depression, and muscle weakness. Without addressing these issues, exercise is just not possible no matter how many times a provider tells you that exercise is beneficial.
The solution, once again, is advocate for yourself.
Ask for a referral to cancer rehabilitation!
Unfortunately, there are many hurdles we must overcome to ensure that we receive the benefits of rehab. These hurdles require changes to how providers think about and utilize rehab services. They may require you to advocate on your behalf for these services. The old adage is true, the squeaky wheel gets the oil!
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