Oncology Rehabilitation Backgrounder
St. John’s Rehab’s Oncology Rehabilitation Program was developed to meet the recovery needs of patients who have undergone major surgeries and a long post-operative recovery period as a result of abdomen, gastrointestinal and other cancers.
- The short-stay, intensive program was officially launched in April 2006, with the first patients admitted during its pilot phase in November 2005.
- Referrals to the program are accepted from hospitals and physicians throughout Ontario.
- The oncology program’s major acute care referring partner is Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Our alliance expedites the referral process to give patients the care they need sooner and in the right place.
- The St. John’s Rehab clinical team is specially trained to care for the unique physical and psychosocial needs of cancer survivors.
- As part of the Complex Rehabilitation Program, we also provide rehabilitation for surgeries where cancer is a secondary diagnosis, such as major orthopaedic reconstruction and neuro-oncology.
- Rehabilitation treatment is designed to help patients regain physical strength and mobility. Individualized, customized rehabilitation care rebuilds lives by ensuring maximum recovery, improved quality of life and a smooth transition into the community.
- The program involves multidisciplinary assessment, treatment and support focused on the whole person – body, mind and spirit.
- The health care system also reaps the benefits of rehab. Moving appropriate patients to a specialized rehab facility frees up urgently needed acute care beds at our partner facilities.
- Our multidisciplinary clinical team includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers, nurses, speech-language pathologists, pharmacists, physicians, dietitians, psychologists, pharmacists, physiatrists and spiritual care.
- Inpatient and outpatient teams each work collaboratively with patients and their families to design individually customized rehabilitation programs and to monitor progress towards each patient’s specific goals.
St. John’s Rehab oncology patients (April 2009 – March 2010)
- Patients admitted: 112
- Outpatient visits: 28
- Typical length of inpatient stay: three to four weeks
- Average age of patients: 74 years old
- Patients aged 55 or older: 92 per cent
- Gender of patients: 39 per cent male, 61 per cent female
Ontario cancer statistics
According to the Canadian Cancer Society:
- An estimated 173,800 new cases of cancer and 76,200 deaths will occur in Canada in 2010.
- Approximately, 83,900 Canadian women will be diagnosed with cancer. About 36,200 women will die of cancer.
- Approximately, 90,000 Canadian men will be diagnosed with cancer. About 40,000 men will die of cancer.
- Lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancer account for 50% of all new cancer cases every year.
- Based on 2002-2004 estimates, the five-year relative survival ratio for all cancers combined was 62%. The highest five-year relative survival ratios were thyroid (98%) and testicular cancer (96%). The lowest ratios were those with pancreactic cancer (6%), lung (males 13%, females 17%), and esophagus (14%). For most of the cancers examined, survival was higher among women or similar between the sexes.