Roswell Park’s Rehabilitation Services encompass both inpatient and outpatient services to provide physical and occupational therapy specifically designed for cancer patients and survivors of all ages — before, during and after cancer treatment. Our Rehabilitation team will work to maximize your physical abilities and quality of life, to ensure the most effective recovery for you. Both pediatric and adult patients are seen within our clinic.
Outpatient services can be accessed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Rehabilitation Offices are located on the ground floor of the hospital and can be contacted by calling 716-845-3271.
Why it’s important
Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, transplant and other cancer treatments can cause many side effects — while many of these do subside once treatment ends, others remain. More than 80% of cancer patients have side effects that can be improved with rehabilitation.
You don’t have to wait to complete your cancer treatment before seeking relief. Many symptoms can be addressed and improved while you are in active treatment. In addition, some secondary effects — such as lymphedema — may not surface until years later.
How we can help
After an initial evaluation, our team will create a personalized plan of care to address your needs. This plan may encompass exercises for you to perform at home, activity modifications, and a schedule of continued therapy appointments in our clinic. Your personalized rehabilitation plan may include one or more of the following types of therapy:
- Physical therapy to improve mobility, strength, balance, function and reduce pain.
- Occupational therapy to improve function in everyday living skills such as self-care, and work or leisure activities.
- Lymphedema care to reduce swelling and discomfort and prevent infection.
- Pelvic floor physical therapy to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and improve urinary or bowel symptoms, pelvic organ prolapse, and pelvic or genital pain.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation to focus on strengthening respiratory muscles and improve breathlessness and endurance.
Rehabilitation therapy can help start you on the road to a more active way of life, resuming prior activities or finding new ones. Staying physically active after a cancer diagnosis has beneficial effects for several aspects of survivorship, including weight management, quality of life, cancer recurrence or progression, and prognosis. Ask your Roswell Park physician for a referral, and let us begin helping you!
Enacting a team approach to empower and facilitate patients of all ages to achieve their functional goals with a focus on quality of life through providing compassionate, individualized, oncology based care throughout your cancer journey.
