Cancer Rehabilitation Program

Ohio State can help you achieve a higher quality of life and independence following a cancer diagnosis.

Ohio State’s Cancer Rehabilitation Program helps you and your family deal with the physical, cognitive and emotional challenges related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Our cancer rehabilitation team creates a personalized care plan for you that includes education, treatment and support.

Our Patients

Cancer occurs when malignant (cancer) cells develop in tissue. The malignancy, often referred to as a tumor, can interfere with organ and body functions.

Oho State provides physical, occupational, speech and cognitive treatments services for people with cancer. Most often, patients

  • Have been recently diagnosed
  • May be recovering from cancer surgery
  • May be receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy

Why choose The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center?

Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center has helped thousands of people with cancer achieve a higher level of independence and a better quality of life. Our rehabilitative programs can help you regain lost skills or learn new ones. Here’s why patients choose Ohio State:

Personalized Care: An expert team of health care professionals works together with cancer physicians and surgeons to create a comprehensive and personalized care plan for you. Our rehabilitation therapies focus on building strength so you can better tolerate your cancer treatments. You can receive quality of life education, end-of-life counseling and pastoral care. We can arrange for in-home equipment and a personalized discharge care plan, if you have been given a short-term prognosis and want to remain at home.

Accredited Care: We are proud to be first in Ohio, second in the nation, third in the world to be awarded Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation for our inpatient cancer rehabilitation program. CARF recognized our programs as meeting the highest standards in quality, safety and outcome measures, which provide risk-reduction and accountability in our patient care.

Nation’s Best: Ohio State’s rehabilitation and cancer treatment programs consistently rank among the best in the nation. As an academic medical center, Ohio State offers comprehensive medical expertise, the most advanced technologies and treatment techniques, and innovative care backed by research knowledge.

Our Services

Our Services

Without treatment, some cancers are aggressive and may result in death within a short time. Our treatment can help extend your time and improve your quality of life.

Our program offers rehabilitation services to help in each phase of your rehabilitation — from services offered in the hospital (inpatient services) to those offered after returning home (outpatient services). These services continue your care to help achieve your highest level of recovery.

Your rehabilitation program may include:

  • Adaptive devices to make home and work activities easier
  • Arts therapy (uses the creative process to help patients improve physical skills, thinking skills and emotional well-being)
  • Biofeedback therapy (treatment technique to improve health using signals from the body)
  • Breathing exercises
  • Classes and individual therapy sessions for adjustment issues following your diagnosis
  • Cognitive therapy (helps with thinking and understanding skills)
  • Diet and nutrition education
  • Electrical stimulation for arm and leg weakness
  • Home evaluation for safety and accessibility
  • Locomotor training (LT) (a method of physical therapy where the patient is suspended in a harness over a treadmill, while specially-trained therapists move their legs to simulate walking)
  • Meditation (techniques to relax the body and mind)
  • Neurological diagnostic tests (such as CT scan, MRI and EMG)
  • Neuromodulation (the use of neurological pacemakers and other devices to deliver electrical signals, medications and other therapeutic agents precisely into the brain, spinal cord and nervous system)
  • Neuromuscular therapy (helps with mobility and motor control issues)
  • Neuropsychological evaluations (measure concentration, learning and other skills)
  • Occupational therapy (helps patients participate in activities of daily living)
  • Patient and family counseling and support
  • Patient education focused on lifestyle adjustments
  • Physical therapy (helps patients improve strength, mobility and fitness)
  • Real world simulation (such as community re-entry and independent living apartment)
  • Recreational therapy (helps patients engage in recreational and leisure activities to enhance community participation and satisfaction)
  • Respiratory therapy (treatment of breathing disorders using respirators or aerosol medications)
  • Speech therapy (treatment of speech and communication disorders)
  • Training for return to home, work and community
  • Wheelchair seating and other mobility options

Treatment Team

Your Treatment Team

Your personalized treatment plan starts with a team of specialists who may include:

  • Physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians or physiatrists who specialize in helping people regain body functions lost due to medical conditions or injuries
  • Certified rehabilitation nurses who specialize in the care of the chronically ill and injured
  • Physical therapists who specialize in helping patients achieve maximum strength, balance and mobility
  • Occupational therapists who specialize in improving patients' ability to complete activities of daily living
  • Speech-language pathologists who specialize in helping patients improve communication, cognition and swallowing
  • Recreational therapists who specialize in providing education and community-based interventions to improve patients' physical, mental, social and emotional well-being
  • Respiratory therapists who specialize in assessing and treating breathing disorders
  • Dietitians who specialize in nutrition and dietetics
  • Social workers who specialize in the social, emotional and financial needs of families and patients
  • Case managers who specialize in the coordination of inpatient and post-hospital care and services for patients and families
  • Neuroradiologists who specialize in imaging technologies to diagnose disorders of the nerves, brain or spinal cord
  • Radiation oncologists who specialize in the administration of radiation therapy
  • Neuropathologists who specialize in the diagnosis of neurological disorders and diseases

Additional Specialized Services

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