Rehabilitation and adjusting to life with cancer is a part of cancer care and treatment. Rehabilitation is a process that assists a person with cancer to regain their ability to function at the highest level possible, given any limits created by the disease or its treatment. It can begin as soon as a person is first diagnosed and a treatment plan is made or started after treatment is finished.
Many people diagnosed with and treated for cancer need some type of rehabilitation to help them:
- adapt to physical or cognitive changes
- be as physically independent as possible
- regain their ability to perform daily activities
- deal with emotional, social or vocational aspects
Each person with cancer has unique rehabilitation needs. There are many people on the healthcare team who specialize in areas designed to help a person obtain or maintain good function. Some rehabilitation specialists:
- provide exercise programs or physical therapy
- provide advice on how to do activities of daily living or can suggest or make adaptive devices (occupational therapy, prosthetics or orthotics)
- treat speech or communication problems (speech therapy)
- provide employment or job counselling (vocational counselling)
- provide emotional support and help with some of the practical and social issues
More and more people are living with cancer because cancer treatments are improving.