Cancer rehabilitation services in a tertiary care center

People with cancer often have functional limitations resulting from fatigue, deconditioning, pain, or metastasis to the musculoskeletal or nervous system, in addition to the psychosocial aspects of dealing with their disease. Their medical caregivers often focus on treating the disease and overlook these important aspects. The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic developed a Cancer Rehabilitation Service in 1979 to address these needs for hospitalized patients. Some of the challenges and successes of this service are briefly discussed in this article.