Central Nervous System Cancer Rehabilitation

Book excerpt: Rehabilitation of a person with cancer of the brain and spinal cord requires individualized care by a team of specialists from time of initial diagnosis through active treatment, survivorship, and advanced stages of the disease. The purpose of this book is to provide useful information to assist these clinicians in the noble endeavor of rehabilitating individuals diagnosed and treated for cancer of the central nervous system with the goal of maximizing the level of function and quality of life. This book begins with a description of the cancer rehabilitation continuum of care, safety considerations, and functional outcomes. The section on brain cancer provides content on neurosurgical management, rehabilitation, cognitive deficits, communication, and swallowing impairments. The section on spinal cord cancer provides the reader with information on characteristics of spinal cord tumors, neurosurgical management, and rehabilitation. A chapter on rehabilitation of the child with brain and spinal cord cancer addresses the unique needs of this population. Pain and fatigue are very common concerns raised by persons with cancer of the central nervous system, and these topics are covered as well. The final chapter covers the equally important topic of the role of palliative rehabilitation in advanced cancer--page ix.