How a Personalized Physical Therapy Program Can Help With Ovarian Cancer Treatment Side Effects

Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos Cancer Rehab & Integrative Medicine

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Physical Therapy During Ovarian Cancer Treatment

A personalized physical therapy program can be helpful regardless of the cancer treatment you receive
During and after chemotherapy, physical therapy can help with fatigue, neuropathy, weakness, and balance issues
During and after radiation, physical therapy can help with scar tissue, posture, breathing, and digestion
During and after hormone treatment, physical therapy can help with fatigue, weight gain, and sexual side effects

The data is clear, even at the most difficult times, exercise can have benefits. Regardless of the type of treatment you’re receiving for your ovarian cancer — from chemotherapy to surgery to radiation — a physical therapy program can offer a tremendous benefit.

In terms of chemotherapy, Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos, a oncology physical therapist for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas, says that physical therapy can help with some of the tough side effects, including fatigue, weakness, balance issues, and neuropathy (which means a loss of feeling in the fingers or toes).

“Exercise improves your circulation, which improves wound-healing,” Dr. Wicker-Ramos says.

Physical therapy programs during ovarian cancer treatment should be uniquely designed for the individual patient, Dr. Wicker-Ramos explains. “[Physical therapists] can work with you before chemotherapy to get your baseline and get you on a program to help reduce the symptoms that may happen from chemotherapy, and they can work with you along the entire spectrum of chemotherapy treatment in order to reduce those side effects.” At each point in the program, she says, physical therapists should be able to adapt and alter their program based on where you are and the symptoms you’re experiencing.

During radiation treatment, Dr. Wicker-Ramos adds, seeing a physical therapist can help with scar tissue and the effects if can have on your posture, digestion, and breathing.

In addition to chemo and radiation, physical therapy may be helpful during treatment with hormone therapy.

“Any treatments that are ridding your body of hormones have side effects as well, including fatigue, weight gain, and some sexual dysfunction issues such as pelvic pain and incontinence,” Dr. Wicker-Ramos says. Physical therapy can help to address all of these side effects and improve a patient’s overall quality of life during ovarian cancer treatment and recovery.

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Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos is the owner, certified lymphedema therapist, and oncology physical therapist for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas. Read More

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