Oncology Rehabilitation for Laryngeal Cancer

Laryngeal Cancer Treatment: Oncology Rehabilitation

Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) offers comprehensive physical therapy and rehabilitation services for laryngeal cancer patients. Our goal is not only rehabilitation, but promotion of a healthy lifestyle throughout your laryngeal cancer treatment and beyond.

At our cancer hospitals, an integrated team of physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), speech and massage therapists will work with you. They’ll help you develop and implement a customized, physical fitness regimen. Centered on cardiovascular fitness, strength training and flexibility, our oncology rehabilitation program can not only reduce stress and improve your quality of life, but encourage healing and help strengthen your body in your fight against laryngeal cancer.

Oncology rehabilitation at CTCA includes the following:

Evaluation

In order to develop a physical therapy regimen you can use during your laryngeal cancer treatment, our rehabilitation team will first conduct an initial evaluation. Part of this evaluation consists of a functional assessment, measuring your ability to perform activities of daily living.

Physical therapy/exercise program

No matter what your existing physical capabilities are, at CTCA, we work to help all of our patients maintain some level of physical activity. By working to strengthen your body as a whole, we can also help your body's tolerance to chemotherapy and radiation that you may be undergoing as part of your laryngeal cancer treatment.

Participating in daily exercise programs can help strengthen the body. It can also help reduce stress, anxiety and insomnia. Our rehabilitation services team will educate and support you throughout your laryngeal cancer treatment, enabling you to take control over your condition and instilling in you a drive to achieve optimal wellness.

Customized to you, our exercise programs combine range-of-motion training with other light activities, like resistance training, to provide you with the right amount of exercise during your laryngeal cancer treatment. Designed for patients capable of maintaining self-care, these programs will help you identify and address strength and stamina deficiencies.

• Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE): This test helps therapists determine the intensity of exercise you can tolerate. The scale ranges from 6 (no exertion at all) to 20 (maximal exertion). Since the condition of each person is unique, the Borg system measures "exercise" as any activity that increases heart rate. Most people achieve 65 to 75 percent of their maximum heart rate during exercise.
• Flexibility program: Stretching is a beneficial and calming activity that relieves joint stiffness and pain while improving your overall mobility and range of motion. The benefits of stretching include:
  • Enhancement of performance in everyday activities
  • Improvement of mobility and independence
  • Improvement and maintenance of posture and muscle balance
  • Injury prevention
  • Promotion of physical and mental relaxation

Manual therapy

Massage therapy is one means of manual muscle therapy. If you require massage therapy as part of your laryngeal cancer treatment, you will first obtain a referral from either a physical or occupational therapist. The following are forms of manual therapy you may receive from rehabilitation services at CTCA:

• Swedish massage
• Reflexology
• Lymphedema massage
• Myofascial release

Occupational therapy

At CTCA, occupational therapists are available to help support you during your laryngeal cancer treatment. By studying you as you interact with your day-to-day surroundings, occupational therapists assess physical mobility and will teach you how to address, and adapt to, any physical limitations resultant from treatment. Quality-of-life programs include:

• Showering
• Dressing
• Eating
• Toileting

Speech pathology

Speech pathologists provide a dual role in laryngeal cancer treatment, teaching speech therapy and troubleshooting any swallowing problems that may limit your ability to consume food. If left untreated, an improper swallowing mechanism can create a condition known as aspiration (that is, when food falls into the lung). Speech pathologists will work with our Nutrition and Food Services staffs to thicken or puree food to the consistency you may require.

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