Special
Therapies
1.
Hyperthermia
to treat cancer :
·
Cells in the body are exposed to higher
than normal temperatures, changes take place inside the cells.
·
Very high temperatures can kill cancer
cells outright.
2 different types:
·
Local hyperthermia or thermal ablation:
Very high temperature is used to destroy a small area of (tumour).
·
Regional hyperthermia or whole-body
hyperthermia: The temperature of a part of the body (or even the whole body)
can be raised a few degrees higher than normal. Done under general anaesthesia
.
2.
Radiofrequency
ablation
·
Uses high-energy radio waves for treatment.
·
A thin, needle-like probe is put into the tumour
for a short time, usually about 10 to 30 minutes
·
Placement of the probe is guided using ultrasound,
MRI, or CT scans.
·
The tip of the probe puts out a
high-frequency current that creates heat (between 122-212 degree F) and
destroys the cells within a certain area.
3.
Photodynamic
Therapy
·
A treatment that uses special drugs,
called photosensitizing agents, along with light to kill The drugs only work
after they have been activated or "turned on" by certain kinds of
light. Also be called photo-radiation therapy, phototherapy, or photo-chemotherapy.
4.
Lasers
in Cancer Treatment
·
Laser light has a single wavelength and
can be focused in a very narrow beam.
·
This makes it both powerful and precise.
·
Lasers can be used instead of blades
(scalpels) for cutting through body tissue.
·
Lasers are named for the liquid, gas,
solid, or electronic substance that's used to creat the light.
·
Types of lasers commonly used in cancer
treatment: carbon dioxide (CO2), argon, neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium
garnet (Nd:YAG).
Rehabilitation
Meaning
: Cancer rehabilitation is the maximum restoration of physical, psychological, social,vocational,
recreational and economic functions within the limits imposed by the malignancy
and its treatment.
Need for cancer rehabilitation
·
Improving physical strength to help offset
any limitations from cancer treatment.
·
Helping the person with cancer become more
independent and less reliant on caregivers.
·
Helping the person to adjust to actual,
perceived and potential losses due to treatment
·
Reducing sleep-problems.
·
Lowering the number of hospitalizations.
General
Principles of rehabilitation care
Functional status is
influenced by psychological aging changes, acute and chronic illness, and
adaption to the physical environment.
Evaluate the underlying causes of functional
decline when a change in functional status is noted.
Emphasize the function
rather than dysfunction and capabilities rather than disabilities.
Rehabilitation is an
individual process and it requires a multidisciplinary team for optimal results
Demonstration hope,
optimism, interest, determination, patience, and humour; these encourage patients
in their rehabilitation efforts.
Recognize and praise the
accomplishments
Include patient and family in
multidisciplinary team conference
Do not equate functional loss with loss of
maturity, intelligence or independence. Continue to individual as an adult with
goals and preferences.
Educate the client and
family on the value of independent functioning and causes and consequences of
functional decline.
Prevent and treat
complications of functional loss such as skin breakdown, muscle weakness, pulmonary
compromise, social isolation and depression.
Manage pain and other
symptoms.
Balance activity with
rest periods
Design environment to
facilitate access with handrails, wide doorways, raised toilet seats, shower
seats ,enhanced lighting and chairs of various types and height
Cancer
rehabilitation team
Oncologist
Dietician
Chaplain
psychiatrist
psychologist
Speech-language pathologist
Rehabilitation nurse
Physical therapist
Social worker
Case manager
Recreational therapist
Vocational counsellor
Cancer
rehabilitation services:-
·
Pain management techniques and medications
·
Patient and family education and counselling
·
Nutritional counselling
·
Smoking cessation programs
·
Gait and /or balance training
·
Provision of assistive ambulatory devices
·
Ambulation on different types of surface (stairs,
ramps)
·
Provision and/or modification of shoe gear
and orthotics
·
Education and provision of bracing and
splinting
·
ROM, coordination and strengthening
exercises
·
Sensory integration
·
Positioning posturing
·
Berating exercises
·
Chest physiotherapy
·
Relaxation exercises
·
Modalities to decrease the pain and oedema
·
Alternative interventions: Yoga aquatics,
acupressure, acupuncture
·
Patient and family education for home
management
·
Training activities of daily living
·
Transfer training (toilet, bathtub, car)
·
Energy conservation training
·
Training to compensate for visual – perceptual
problems.
·
Activities to enhance the function of
upper extremities
·
Interventions to improve and/or normalize
language production
·
Use of amplifiers and//or alternate
communication devices
·
Reading, writing, and math retraining
·
Therapy for swallowing disorder
·
Oral muscular training
Rehabilitative services
Assistive technology:
·
Benefits individual with physical, sensory
and cognitive impairments.
·
Includes aids such as mobility aids,
grasping aids, devices forr blindness and low vision, assistive listening
devices, alternative and augmented devices for communication.
·
Transfer devices such as transfer boards,
transfer benches
Exercise and activity:
·
To optimize and preserve functional status
·
Improves the psychological health,
preserve cognitive function, reduces the symptoms of depression and fatigue.
·
Strengthens the sense of wellbeing,
personal control and self-efficacy.
·
Low to moderately intense exercises:
ambulation, bicycling and muscle strengthening
·
Non-weight bearing aerobic exercise for
bone metastasis patients.
Bowel and bladder
continence:
Can lead to infection,
skin breakdown, falls, anorexia, depression.
Rehabilitative approaches
to promote urinary and faecal continence,
Nutrition
Emotional support
Caregiver support
Enhancing body image
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