Yes, but it’s a disease and it is going to affect anyone in population. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths. The most common cancers are breast, lung, colon and rectum and prostate cancers.
Cancer survivors are at risk for impairments that arise from the cancer itself or as a consequence of cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, and/or the interaction of these factors with comorbid medical conditions.
Cancer‐related impairments can lead to functional limitations, which can in turn result in changes in a person's ability to fulfill his or her work role.
Cancer and its treatment often cause physical, psychological, and cognitive problems. These problems can make it harder to do daily activities or return to work. They may also have a lasting effect on your health. Cancer rehabilitation can help with these problems, which can happen during and after cancer treatment.
Cancer rehabilitation is a care that focuses on maximizing a person's physical and emotional functioning with cancer, and can be started before, during, or after treatment. It can help people with cancer recover more quickly and more fully from cancer treatment.
Recovery from cancer comes with many other challenges such as (add small description to these points)
1. Restricted range of motion at joints – breast or oral cancer patients face restricted range of motion at shoulder and jaw respectively due to fibrosis.
2. Chronic fatigue - cancer treatment damages healthy cells in addition to the cancer cells. Or fatigue might happen as your body works to repair damage caused by treatment.
3. Depression and anxiety - High levels of mental distress for sustained periods of time in cancer patients may lead to anxiety, depression or both.
4. Inability to chew food or drooling from mouth – as a result of oral cancer surgery.
5. Lymphoedema - Sometimes a cancerous tumor can get big enough to block the lymph system. Surgery to remove cancer may also remove lymph nodes or some of the vessels that carry the lymph fluid. This can cause the fluid to build up in surrounding tissues.
6. Reduces stamina – lack of physical activity, reduced food intake and pain, patients get easily tired.
7. Poor posture habits - one-sided mastectomy or minor breast surgery to treat breast cancer can have deleterious effects on posture and the musculoskeletal system such as alterations in spine alignment, an increased thoracic kyphosis and upper limb dysfunctions, and decrease of shoulder joint angles.
8. Muscle tightness and weakness
Who is a cancer rehab physiotherapist?
Cancer rehabilitation physiotherapist focus on following area of your health and wellbeing by
1. Working on Improving your endurance, strength and mobility.
2. Act as your health coach and helps you in Increasing your confidence and self-esteem.
3. Scar and fibrosis management.
4. Design an exercise program to combat cancer related fatigue.
5. Help you deal with your chronic pain with the help of modalities, passive techniques, posture correction advices, suggesting your lifestyle modification, and framing an exercise program for you.
6. In cases of breast cancer or cervical cancer the therapist deeply focuses on lymphedema prevention and management using tools like massage, prescribing compression garment, compression therapy.
Cancer rehabilitation also helps patients to -
• Make the activities of daily living and caring for yourself easier.
• Help you cope with anxiety, distress or other emotional issues.
• Reduce fatigue, pain and other lingering side effects.
• Return to work.
• Formulate a long-term plan for cancer survivorship.
• Improve quality of life.
Cancer journey is daunting both physically and emotionally. Were cancer treatments are exhausting and painful. Physiotherapy when combined with active lifestyle works wonder in helping you get out of the stressful experience of Cancer and help you to #movebetter. Are you a cancer survivor or care giver, gift yourself or loved one online cancer rehab program by HealthQ rehab were our cancer rehab specialist Dr. Dipal Shah who is a cardiopulmonary physiotherapist and certified cancer rehab therapist. She has been treating cancer survivors online as well as offline and can defiantly help you go through this difficult journey.
Just log into www.healthqrehab.com and you will find your way to progress.
