Getting Back to Work after Chemotherapy-Role of Physiotherapy

Understanding Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy is a combative form of chemical drug therapy meant to destroy quickly growing cells in the body. It is generally used to treat cancer, as cancer cells grow and separate faster than other cells.

Different Types of Chemotherapy:

• Standard chemotherapy, traditional chemotherapy or cytotoxic chemotherapy

• Targeted chemotherapy

• Immunotherapy

Goals of Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy objectives depend on the type of cancer and the extent to which it has spread. The goal of treatment is sometimes to get rid of all cancer and prevent it from returning. If this is not possible, chemotherapy may be given to delay or slow the growth of cancer.

Chemotherapy also helps to manage cancer caused symptoms by delaying or slowing cancer growth. Palliative chemotherapy is sometimes used to delay the growth of cancer.

Returning to Work Post Cancer Treatment:

Many things can be called completing cancer treatment: Post-treatment, remission, cancer-free, survival, no disease evidence. However, you choose to label this stage of your cancer experience, it is a huge milestone to complete treatment. Friends and family may want to celebrate and many assume that your life can return to normal. But, most people who have been in this situation know that there are challenges ahead.

One of the many challenges of the post-treatment phase is going back to work. This might mean returning to your place of employment post medical leave or finding new employment. Once you are medically cleared to get back to work, here are things to consider before returning to the workplace:

• The long-term side effects of your treatment.

• The physical demands or strain of your job.

• Your need for follow-up care.

Accommodating Physically to Work:

There are many benefits to going back to work. Work boosts self-confidence and furnishes valuable social interactions with peers. But you can experience fatigue, pain, cognitive problems and other side effects of treatment as a cancer survivor.

The effect of a cancer diagnosis and treatment on a patient’s daily activities is drastic. There is a need to cater support and interventions to help patients maintain daily activities.

Physiotherapy plays a major role in cancer treatment

The techniques used can help to restore weakened tissue. After surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, physiotherapists work with people. They canhelp minimize long-term and short-term side effects and prevent unnecessary disabilities.

How Physiotherapy Can Aid?

One of the primary ways that physiotherapist can assist is to address cancer-related fatigue, one of the most common side effects for those undergoing treatment. A physiotherapist can evaluate a patient and pinpoint precisely what issues they are facing. Addressing these issues could involve strength training, to compensate for any debilitating muscles or bones; aerobic training, to address energy issues that relate to pacing and short of breath; cardiovascular & endurance training; or kinesiology, the science of movement, which can aid patients learn how to overcome limitations and use the physical abilities they do have in the most effective way.

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