Oncology Rehabilitation

Cancer and the treatment of cancer can create physical and mental challenges as you progress through your cancer journey.

At Gibbs Cancer Center Oncology Rehabilitation, we want to help you every step of the way throughout your treatment process to preserve the highest possible level of:

• Communication
• Swallowing
• Memory
• Muscle strength and motion
• Walking
• Comfort

Different types of cancer and cancer treatments create different side effects. For example, communication and swallowing issues are most often connected to head and neck cancer. Fatigue and muscle weakness are common side effects of chemotherapy.

Our team will customize your treatment according to your type of cancer, and work to relieve many of the side effects you are experiencing. We’re dedicated to giving you the best quality of life possible — starting with your first day of treatment and continuing for as long as you need us after your treatment is complete.

Each type of therapist at Gibbs is trained to help you maintain or regain important life skills:

• Occupational therapists assist you with activities of daily living, which can include bathing, dressing, grooming, managing your home, and caring for yourself and others. They can also recommend equipment to make these tasks easier.
• Physical therapists assist you with movement, whether you need help with balance, walking, changing positions while lying down or climbing stairs. They also make suggestions about using equipment to make movement easier.
• Both groups of therapists encourage you to work through fatigue with gentle activity and exercise to maintain your muscle strength and energy. Our therapists are also lymphedema-certified, with skills to treat lymphedema. This condition occurs when a collection of fluid develops beneath the skin due to treatment of breast, lung, ovarian and other types of cancer. Our certified therapists can use compression and other techniques to reduce swelling and discomfort.
• Speech-language pathologists work with people who have head and neck cancer, or any other cancers that impact a person’s ability to communicate, eat or swallow comfortably, think through problems or recall information.

Ask your healthcare provider how oncology rehabilitation may help you in your recovery from cancer.

To schedule a new patient appointment, please call 864-560-5150.