Cancer-Specific Rehab Now Available at OSF
By: Jacob Long, WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: January 8, 2013
NORMAL - Two hospitals in the OSF Medical Group are filling a need for cancer patients.
You're probably familiar with what traditional rehab services entail, but what about rehab designed specifically for people going through chemotherapy?
OSF said this week those kinds of patients often don't have rehabilitation options.
But now OSF St. James in Pontiac and OSF St. Joseph in Bloomington are the only hospitals in McLean and Livingston Counties to be part of the STAR program.
It's a national certification designed to improve the lives of people with cancer, whether they're undergoing treatment or finishing it.
"We want to give people support. We want to give them the right amount of hope to know that you don't have to live with what they call a 'new normal.' You know, you don't have to say 'I used to be able to do this, but I had cancer,'" said OSF Rehabilitation Services Manager Stephanie Dotson.
Cancer rehab is similar to traditional rehab.
Once a patient is referred, they can get help with pain, fatigue or other chemo-related issues tied to cancer treatment.
The program's official start is Monday.
You're probably familiar with what traditional rehab services entail, but what about rehab designed specifically for people going through chemotherapy?
OSF said this week those kinds of patients often don't have rehabilitation options.
But now OSF St. James in Pontiac and OSF St. Joseph in Bloomington are the only hospitals in McLean and Livingston Counties to be part of the STAR program.
It's a national certification designed to improve the lives of people with cancer, whether they're undergoing treatment or finishing it.
"We want to give people support. We want to give them the right amount of hope to know that you don't have to live with what they call a 'new normal.' You know, you don't have to say 'I used to be able to do this, but I had cancer,'" said OSF Rehabilitation Services Manager Stephanie Dotson.
Cancer rehab is similar to traditional rehab.
Once a patient is referred, they can get help with pain, fatigue or other chemo-related issues tied to cancer treatment.
The program's official start is Monday.
