Cancer Rehabilitation with a Focus on Evidence-Based Outpatient Physical and Occupational Therapy Interventions

Cancer rehabilitation is an important part of survivorship as a distinct phase of treatment. Although cancer rehabilitation may involve many disciplines, this article specifically covers evidence-based treatment in physical and occupational therapy. Patients may need physical and occupational therapy services for a variety of cancer-related or cancer-treatment-related problems, including pain, fatigue, deconditioning, and difficulty with gait. They may also have problems resuming their previous level of function, which can impact on activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, return to previous home and community activity levels, and return to work. This review discusses the role of physical and occupational therapy in helping cancer patients improve pain and musculoskeletal issues, deconditioning and endurance effects, fatigue, balance and falls, and lymphedema and psychosocial problems.

[1]  M. Macvicar,et al.  Effects of Aerobic Interval Training on Cancer Patients' Functional Capacity , 1989, Nursing research.

[2]  S. Kilbreath,et al.  Decreased muscle strength following management of breast cancer , 2008, Disability and rehabilitation.

[3]  A. G. Warren,et al.  Lymphedema: A Comprehensive Review , 2007, Annals of plastic surgery.

[4]  S. Mohile,et al.  Falls and physical performance deficits in older patients with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy. , 2008, Urology.

[5]  G. Schuler,et al.  Physical activity , 2001, Public Health Nutrition.

[6]  M. Mori,et al.  Exercise reduces daily fatigue in women with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. , 2001, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[7]  K. Courneya,et al.  Impact of a Combined Resistance and Aerobic Exercise Program on Motivational Variables in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial , 2008, Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

[8]  M. Markman.  Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: Underreported and underappreciated , 2006, Current pain and headache reports.

[9]  E. Dunn,et al.  A RANDOMIZED TRIAL TO EXAMINE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON BONE DENSITY IN CANCER PATIENTS RECEIVING CHEMOTHERAPY AND CATABOLIC STEROIDS , 2001 .

[10]  J. Silver.  Rehabilitation in women with breast cancer. , 2007, Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America.

[11]  P. Hinds,et al.  Cancer-related fatigue. Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. , 2007, Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN.

[12]  A. Dewey.  Psychosocial interventions for reducing fatigue during cancer treatment in adults. , 2010, International journal of evidence-based healthcare.

[13]  J. Perlmutter,et al.  From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Translation , 2006 .

[14]  B. Lynch,et al.  Transitions in work participation after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer , 2008, Australian and New Zealand journal of public health.

[15]  N. Mutrie,et al.  Patient recruitment into a randomised controlled trial of supervised exercise therapy in sedentary women treated for breast cancer. , 2007, Contemporary clinical trials.

[16]  K. Courneya,et al.  Randomized controlled trial of exercise training in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors: cardiopulmonary and quality of life outcomes. , 2003, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[17]  I-Min Lee,et al.  Physical activity and cancer prevention--data from epidemiologic studies. , 2003, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[18]  K. Refshauge,et al.  Progressive resistance training and stretching following surgery for breast cancer: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial , 2006, BMC Cancer.

[19]  C. Rock,et al.  Greater survival after breast cancer in physically active women with high vegetable-fruit intake regardless of obesity. , 2007, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[20]  S. Lippman,et al.  Type II chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction: time to recognize a new entity. , 2005, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[21]  M. Levine,et al.  Clinical practice guidelines for the care and treatment of breast cancer: 11. Lymphedema. , 2001, CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne.

[22]  C. Carlson,et al.  Cancer rehabilitation. , 1988, Oncology nursing forum.

[23]  M. Eberhard.  Lymphatic Filariasis: The Disease and Its Control , 1993 .

[24]  M. B. Gillespie,et al.  Driving behaviors in patients with head and neck cancer during and after cancer treatment: A preliminary report , 2007, Head & neck.

[25]  K. Byth,et al.  Defining Lower Limb Lymphedema After Inguinal or Ilio-Inguinal Dissection in Patients With Melanoma Using Classification and Regression Tree Analysis , 2008, Annals of surgery.

[26]  B. Pinto,et al.  Body esteem and mood among sedentary and active breast cancer survivors. , 2004, Mayo Clinic proceedings.

[27]  H. Sievänen,et al.  Effect of a vigorous aerobic regimen on physical performance in breast cancer patients — a randomized controlled pilot trial , 2007, Acta oncologica.

[28]  S. Colletta,et al.  Structured exercise improves physical functioning in women with stages I and II breast cancer: results of a randomized controlled trial. , 2001, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[29]  L. Gerber,et al.  Preoperative assessment enables the early diagnosis and successful treatment of lymphedema , 2008, Cancer.

[30]  Colin Carati,et al.  The Diagnosis and Treatment of Peripheral Lymphedema: 2016 Consensus Document of the International Society of Lymphology. , 2016, Lymphology.

[31]  M. Valenti,et al.  Physical Exercise and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors , 2008, International journal of medical sciences.

[32]  K. Ness,et al.  A Framework for Assessment in Oncology Rehabilitation , 2009, Physical Therapy.

[33]  W. Kwan,et al.  Arm morbidity and disability after breast cancer: new directions for care. , 2008, Oncology nursing forum.

[34]  C. Shapiro,et al.  Delayed emotional recovery after taxane‐based chemotherapy , 2008, Cancer.

[35]  R. Baumgartner,et al.  Influence of pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity on mortality in breast cancer survivors: the health, eating, activity, and lifestyle study. , 2008, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[36]  V. Galea,et al.  Proficiency of balance in children and youth who have had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. , 2005, Physical therapy.

[37]  V. Mock,et al.  Assessment and management of cancer-related fatigue in adults , 2003, The Lancet.

[38]  R. Oskrochi,et al.  Three-dimensional scapulothoracic motion following treatment for breast cancer , 2009, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

[39]  Y. Güldiken,et al.  Assessment of shoulder impairment after functional neck dissection: long term results. , 2005, Auris, nasus, larynx.

[40]  S. Harris,et al.  Effects of Exercise on Quality of Life in Women Living with Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review , 2009, The breast journal.

[41]  S. Fosså,et al.  Arm and shoulder morbidity in breast cancer patients after breast-conserving therapy versus mastectomy , 2008, Acta oncologica.

[42]  D. Cella,et al.  Measuring fatigue and other anemia-related symptoms with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) measurement system. , 1997, Journal of pain and symptom management.

[43]  Kevin C Oeffinger,et al.  Health status of adult long-term survivors of childhood cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. , 2003, JAMA.

[44]  L. Beck,et al.  The detection and treatment of cancer-related functional problems in an outpatient setting , 2008, Supportive Care in Cancer.

[45]  C. Friedenreich,et al.  Effects of aerobic and resistance exercise in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. , 2007, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[46]  G. Montgomery,et al.  Cancer-related fatigue: a systematic and meta-analytic review of non-pharmacological therapies for cancer patients. , 2008, Psychological bulletin.

[47]  Charles A. McAleer,et al.  Why Cancer Rehabilitation , 1978 .

[48]  N. Byl,et al.  Quantitative and clinical description of postural instability in women with breast cancer treated with taxane chemotherapy. , 2007, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[49]  Lang Li,et al.  Prospective characterization of musculoskeletal symptoms in early stage breast cancer patients treated with aromatase inhibitors , 2008, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

[50]  R. Garrod,et al.  Exercise for breast cancer survival: the effect on cancer risk and cancer-related fatigue (CRF). , 2005, International journal of fertility and women's medicine.

[51]  M. Vargo.  The oncology-rehabilitation interface: better systems needed. , 2008, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[52]  Lawrence B Marks,et al.  The incidence and functional consequences of RT-associated cardiac perfusion defects. , 2005, International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics.

[53]  K. Courneya,et al.  Moderators of the effects of exercise training in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy , 2008, Cancer.

[54]  R. Yancik,et al.  Cancer survivors in the United States: age, health, and disability. , 2003, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences.

[55]  K J Stewart,et al.  Fatigue and quality of life outcomes of exercise during cancer treatment. , 2001, Cancer practice.

[56]  W. Willett,et al.  Physical Activity and Survival after Diagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer , 2008, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

[57]  N. J. Bush.  Post-traumatic stress disorder related to the cancer experience. , 2009, Oncology nursing forum.

[58]  J. Silver,et al.  Barriers to pain management in the rehabilitation of the surgical oncology patient , 2007, Journal of surgical oncology.

[59]  I. Gage,et al.  Effects of exercise on fatigue, physical functioning, and emotional distress during radiation therapy for breast cancer. , 1997, Oncology nursing forum.

[60]  P. Ganz,et al.  Fatigue in breast cancer survivors: occurrence, correlates, and impact on quality of life. , 2000, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[61]  A. Haid,et al.  Morbidity of Breast Cancer Patients Following Complete Axillary Dissection or Sentinel Node Biopsy Only: A Comparative Evaluation , 2002, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

[62]  Graham A Colditz,et al.  Physical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. , 2004, JAMA.

[63]  M. Simmonds.  Physical function in patients with cancer: psychometric characteristics and clinical usefulness of a physical performance test battery. , 2002, Journal of pain and symptom management.

[64]  Isl Isl.  THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF PERIPHERAL LYMPHEDEMA , 2003 .

[65]  Timothy R. Crespin,et al.  Distress reduction from a psychological intervention contributes to improved health for cancer patients , 2007, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

[66]  B. Sternfeld,et al.  Physical Activity and Risk of Recurrence and Mortality in Breast Cancer Survivors: Findings from the LACE Study , 2009, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

[67]  J. Mackey,et al.  Exercise intolerance in cancer and the role of exercise therapy to reverse dysfunction. , 2009, The Lancet. Oncology.

[68]  N. Piller,et al.  A systematic review of common conservative therapies for arm lymphoedema secondary to breast cancer treatment. , 2006, Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology.

[69]  T. Kühn,et al.  Shoulder-arm morbidity in patients with sentinel node biopsy and complete axillary dissection--data from a prospective randomised trial. , 2009, European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology.

[70]  I. Mcbride,et al.  Mechanisms of exertional dyspnea in patients with cancer. , 2008, Journal of applied physiology.

[71]  T. Stijnen,et al.  Decrease in peripheral muscle strength and ankle dorsiflexion as long‐term side effects of treatment for childhood cancer , 2008, Pediatric blood & cancer.

[72]  J. Knowelden,et al.  Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention , 1976, British Journal of Cancer.

[73]  D. Golden-Kreutz,et al.  Psychologic intervention improves survival for breast cancer patients , 2008, Cancer.

[74]  J. Farrar,et al.  Symptom Burden Among Cancer Survivors: Impact of Age and Comorbidity , 2007, The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.