My wife has had breast cancer in the same breast twice: in 2010 she had a mastectomy and reconstruction of her left breast, and ten years later there was a recurrence in the chest wall of the same area. A second surgery removed the cancerous cells and was followed by six weeks of radiation treatment.
However, the second surgery left her left arm and shoulder weakened and recently she has been having pain and further weakening such that she now has trouble putting on certain items of clothing.
Her oncologist and two plastic surgeons have recommended she have physical therapy to strengthen the arm and shoulder, but three PT clinics she’s contacted have refused to treat her because she had cancer. Her doctors say there is no reason they should do so.
She has an appointment this week with another clinic and has not so far told them about the cancer (they haven’t asked specifically) but she is afraid they might and doesn’t know whether she should lie to them, which she would ordinarily be reluctant to do. Naturally, she is worried that if she tells the truth, they too will refuse to treat her.
Any ideas why they would refuse a cancer patient and what she should do? Lie and get some treatment or tell the truth and risk being turned away again? Other options? Thanks.
Maybe they’re concerned about injuring her. Cancer patients can be more prone to minor injuries. A guess.
Yes you can always lie about it. If she’s sensitive in any areas she can point that out to the PTs simply by saying my left arm is more sensitive then most people’s, e.g.
The first couple times she was just stunned, and didn’t think to ask why. In one case, when she did, they just said that it was their policy not to treat cancer patients, and didn’t offer any further explanation.
A good friend of mine is a massage therapist – so, not exactly a PT, but in an allied field.
She decided that she was specifically interested in providing massage therapy to breast cancer survivors, many of whom have undergone mastectomies and/or lymph gland removal (and who deal with pain and discomfort related to the surgeries); my friend underwent some special training for this, to give her the knowledge and skills for treating those clients, and their particular needs.
IME … is it possible they’ve misunderstood the difference between your wife being actively in treatment: radiation, chemo, etc., versus her being a survivor currently between between recurrences and not under active treatment.
I found that “cancer patient” is taken as “pt under active treatment and severely beaten down by it.” Such that other practitioners don’t want to deal with immunodeficiency issues, slow healing, low energy, etc.
“Cancer survivor in remission” is a very different idea that conjurs up a very different pt performance status.
My advice, Tell the truth with some detail, but be sure the buzzwords are understood to match the underlying reality.
It may be that those PT clinics have been told that under no circumstances are they to take former cancer patients. They are refusing her because they have to.
Did you read the website? There’s a host of permanent aftereffects of cancer and cancer treatments. Maybe it won’t matter in your wife’s case, but it’s not a terrible idea to see someone who knows what they are.
Best to go to a specialty trained PT, as others have said. Same for massage. A LANA-certified therapist is best because they have specifically learned about lymphedema and how to recognize it, treat it, and not cause it: https://clt-lana.org/
Lymphedema can develop years after surgery or radiation and can be debilitating.
