Submitted
QUINTER — Gove County Medical Center began providing Cancer Exercise Rehabilitation Therapy for the first time in December 2015.
Cancer exercise rehabilitation is an intense therapy. It requires three one hour sessions each week with an individualized cancer exercise specialist coaching and monitoring the patient through the entire session.
Therapy is conducted in a private room, complete with a private restroom. The cheerful apple green walls contain messages explaining how cancer exercise therapy benefits the body.
Each session is carefully modified to best improve the patient’s condition. The intensity and type of exercise chosen is carefully selected to provide the best results. The therapy has four levels and benefits cancer patients during and after cancer treatment.
Since December 2015, five patients have attended the specialized therapy, with a total of 205 sessions conducted. Participants report being very pleased with the treatment they received and the benefits they experienced.
“It was fantastic,” said Gail Balluch, a former patient. “The therapy helped build up my strength and balance. The water therapy especially helped because I could exercise an entire session without pain. I learned how the exercise was pushing the radiation out of my body. I also learned little tips along the way about why the radiation affected the way I was feeling. The therapy helped me a lot.”
Dr. Michael Machen, Bluestem Medical Clinic physician, has witnessed one patient’s remarkable improvement through the cancer exercise rehabilitation. Although the patient was in Stage IV when beginning the therapy, “all of his cancer markers, PET scans, and CT scans are showing very significant improvement.”
“These are the types of results we anticipated and hoped for based on the research and evidence,” said Liz McDonald, Director of Therapy Services. “The research conducted at the University of Northern Colorado Cancer Institute is cutting edge and evidence based. We are seeing only the very beginning of what can be done for our patients here in Northwest Kansas. Right now we have patients on a waiting list so we plan to train more of our staff.”
Cancer exercise therapy has been a community project at every step. A fundraiser provided the funds for initial staff training. Generous grants from the Greater Northwest Kansas Foundation and Pierre C. Henry Foundation helped provide therapy equipment, and donations from the Walk-a-Thon ensured that no patient would ever be charged for this valuable therapy for the first year of our service. We are researching additional sources to continue funding patient treatment.