October Marks National Physical Therapy Month
If you’re about to enter cancer treatment, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Physical Therapy (PT) team may provide part of your care. The team is specially trained to help cancer patients prepare for and recover from rigorous treatments so they can return to the same level of function they had before.
Building Strength Before Treatment
All patients being considered for a bone marrow transplant (BMT) or other cellular therapies are screened first by a physical therapist. The evaluation involves a thorough history and physical assessment to help the Transplant & Cellular Therapy team decide whether it’s appropriate for the patient to move ahead with treatment or if prehabilitation is needed first. Research confirms that these evaluations are critical to improving outcomes, especially in patients who undergo allogeneic transplant (involving a donor).
Often prehabilitation is recommended for these patients and for patients who will undergo surgery. “We perform prehabilitation to optimize a person's physical condition before a planned medical intervention to reduce complications and promote a faster return to usual level of function," says physical therapist Natalie Kaleta, DPT, CLT at Roswell Park.
More Information
Get even more information on the services provided by Roswell Park’s Physical Therapy team.
Coping with Side Effects of Treatment
Physical therapy is often needed after treatment as well — for example, when movement, strength and endurance are impaired following surgery or intensive chemotherapy. Our Doctors of Physical Therapy (DPT) are highly skilled specialists who address those issues with inpatients. Often they begin working with the patient and family the day after surgery to start renewing movement so the patient can be safely discharged from the hospital.
Bryan Wittmeyer, MS, PT, Director, Rehabilitation Therapy and Wellness Services, adds that Roswell Park’s physical therapists have advanced training in specialized services to treat additional treatment-related side effects experienced by some cancer patients, such as lymphedema or breathing difficulty, and can provide pelvic floor therapy to improve or restore continence or sexual function in men and women. “Patients who suffer from shortness of breath, urinary or fecal incontinence, vaginal pain or lymphedema should be referred to outpatient PT, because these areas greatly impact a patient’s quality of life.”
“The goal of physical therapy is for patients to regain as much independence as possible, with safety and confidence,” says Dr. Kaleta. Physical therapists educate patients about what to expect following treatment and offer new approaches to movement and healing to smooth the transition home."
