Cancer Rehabilitation

Julia Kellberg fought for months and was able to overcome a stage 4 cancer diagnosis…but after her treatment ended, she still wasn’t back to 100%. “Going up stairs, walking for any period of time was difficult. Not that I felt bad, I just didn’t have the strength to walk up two or three stairs in a row,” she recalled. “When you sit on your way around for six months, which basically you do, everything atrophies.”  She told her rehab therapist Caroline Lambe that she wanted to get back to playing golf. She was able to tailor her treatment to help her reach her goals. “We started with exercises laying on a mat. We progressed to sitting, we progressed to more dynamic stuff, to stairs. To how to walk and her balance and combining all these things together we got her back to golfing,” said Lambe. “That allowed me to start picking up a golf club again because the first time I did, I could barely pick up a sand wedge, it was so heavy. Then I started feeling better and chipping and putting,” said Kellberg. After months of hard work in the gym after beating cancer, Julia is back on the links. “Months later I’m playing golf three days a week. I’m climbing stairs. I’m walking correctly. I feel pretty good. I don’t have all my strength yet but it’s coming, and I feel fantastic,” said Kellberg. “It’s why I come to work everyday. It’s very motivational. It’s inspiring. It keeps me going,” said Lambe. You can learn more by searching for cancer rehabilitation in leehealth.org. 

Cancer rehab Physical Therapist Megan Lord said 65 to 90% of cancer patients have at least one rehab need, “Our goal with the rehab navigation is to work with all the other disciplines like your nurse navigation, the dietitian, the counseling, your wellness program support groups, because we want to make sure that they have all the resources throughout the process.”

The way she helps depends on the stage the patient is in. Sometimes they do prehab, “Which is they have the cancer diagnosis, but they plan on having surgery and their physicians feel they need to build up their stamina or strength to prepare for surgery.”

They can also help with post-surgery impairments, “Whether it be limited range of motion of lifting their arm over head after breast cancer surgery, core or back weakness after gastrointestinal cancer.”

Lord said radiation brings its own set of challenges. “Our clinicians will do hands-on techniques, along with stretches and exercises to help remove that scar tissue. You also have speech therapy, that radiation affects their swallowing sometimes.”

Lord said she adjusts her therapy program to her patients’ needs, while always keeping their goals in mind, “You want to improve the quality of life as much as you can. Keep them at the prior functional level as much as you can, doing activities they want to do.” A helping hand during a difficult time.