Rehabilitation

Abstract

As the number of cancer survivors has increased owing to more effective treatment, more attention has been placed on quality of life for these individuals. Physiatry, or physical medicine and rehabilitation, emphasizes function. Physiatrists prevent, diagnose, and treat disorders of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Commonly addressed issues in the cancer survivor population include neurogenic bowel, neurogenic bladder, spasticity, lymphedema, pain, and return to work. Generalized weakness and fatigue are among the most common diagnoses in patients with cancer and the most commonly addressed by physiatrists.