ROLES OF OT AND PT IN REHABILITATION FOR BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

October 31, 2023Articles2

In continuation from our previous article that talked about the symptoms, causes and early detection of breast cancer, we would be looking at the importance of rehabilitation in breast cancer awareness.

Breast cancer mortality rate changed little from the 1930s through to the 1970s when surgery alone was the primary mode of treatment (radical mastectomy). Improvements in survival began in the 1990s when countries established breast cancer early detection programs that were linked to comprehensive treatment programs including effective medical therapies. Some treatment options adopted are:

• surgery
• biological therapy, or targeted drug therapy
• hormone therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy

If you are asking the question; why do I need rehabilitation after breast cancer treatment? How important is therapy? If you have all these questions on your mind, well you’re at the right place because this article will be answering your questions and more.

Rehabilitation helps prevent and address problems with neuropathy, lymphedema, and weakness. This can occur during breast cancer treatment or afterward. Many people believe breast cancer treatment to be only surgery and chemotherapy while rehabilitation is often overlooked. The process of rehabilitation helps to ease the pain, symptoms, and side effects that the surgical and chemotherapy process leaves on the patient. Rehabilitation helps address challenges like:

• Neuropathy: this is when nerve damage leads to pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in one or more parts of your body.
• Lymphedema: this is swelling in various areas of your body that happens when something affects your lymphatic system. The swelling typically affects the arms and legs, but it can affect other areas of your body, too. The arm will likely swell just a few centimeters, but that extra fluid makes a difference. For some people, lymphedema can feel tight and painful. The affected arm likely will feel heavier, making it more cumbersome to use.

Research has shown that fixing the aches and pains helps to get back to your favorite activities, including exercise, and can help prevent you from having cancer again. Rehabilitation techniques, like physical and occupational therapy, can reduce pain, fatigue, and weakness. They also help manage lymphedema, the swelling that can be a side effect of breast cancer treatments.

The Roles of Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist:

• Occupational therapy (OT) is an essential component of rehabilitation treatment, as it aids in improving the physical and mental capabilities, self-care abilities, work and learning abilities, and social reintegration of rehabilitation patients. Occupational therapy is centered on patients, it improves their physical, psychological, and social functions, promotes activity and participation, and improves theirs through selected occupational activities or appropriate environmental intervention.

• Occupational therapists focus on helping you do day-to-day tasks, from getting dressed in the morning to getting back to work. Occupational therapy helps you set goals and find ways to reach them. Your occupational therapist will look at where you struggle in your daily duties and come up with solutions to help.
• Your physical therapist can also instruct you how to safely add more exercises to your daily life. Keep in mind that this is not the time to push yourself too hard. The goal is to end up with less discomfort, better movement, and more energy.
• Exercise helps to decrease the side effects of surgery and helps you get back to your usual activities. If you’ve had radiation therapy after surgery, exercises are even more important to help keep your arm and shoulder flexible. Radiation may affect your arm and shoulder long after treatment is finished.

If you are unable to do your normal activities within a few weeks after breast cancer treatment, you will benefit from rehabilitation. Your treatment will be based on your symptoms and the severity of your symptoms will determine how often you will be required to see a therapist.

At Enability, our goal is putting life back into living by helping people live independently irrespective of limitations. Together with our specialized physiotherapists and occupational therapists we can achieve this. Reach out to us at info@enabilityot.com to book an appointment or for further examination and inquiries.