Focused guide collection
Cancer Rehabilitation and Adapting to Changes
Rehabilitation can address function, participation, safety, and independence before, during, or after treatment. Ask which rehabilitation professional fits the specific change.
Guides in this collection
We list only finished pages here. Pages on safety-sensitive topics are added after a qualified reviewer checks them.
Life After Treatment
Speech and Swallowing Rehab After Head and Neck Cancer
Planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support for speech and swallowing rehabilitation after head and neck cancer.
8 min read · Beginner
Life After Treatment
Lymphedema Rehabilitation Beyond Compression Garments
Planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support for lymphedema rehabilitation beyond compression garments.
8 min read · Beginner
Life After Treatment
Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation After Cancer
Pelvic floor rehab after cancer: which treatments cause leaking, urgency, narrowing and pain, how muscle training is done, and who to ask for a referral.
9 min read · Beginner
Cancer & Daily Life
Living With an Ostomy: Daily Life and Body Image
Practical ostomy life: getting a reliable seal, food and dehydration, swimming, clothes, airport security, work, intimacy, and when to call.
9 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Caring for the drainage bag on a nephrostomy tube
MedlinePlus guidance on emptying and washing a nephrostomy bag, switching leg and night bags, dressing changes, and symptoms that need a call.
5 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Eating after ileostomy surgery: the early adjustments
Most people with an ileostomy can eventually eat normally. MedlinePlus explains reintroducing foods, how much to drink, and foods that cause gas or odor.
5 min read · Beginner
Side Effects
How long to wear a compression garment after surgery
What NCI says about when to wear a compression sleeve or garment for lymphedema, who fits it, and the infection signs that need a call right away.
4 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Nephrostomy Tubes and Cancer Care
Patient and caregiver planning for nephrostomy tubes and cancer care: warning changes, questions, safety limits, and care-team instructions.
7 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Tracheostomy Care After Cancer
Patient and caregiver planning for tracheostomy care after cancer: warning changes, questions, safety limits, and care-team instructions.
7 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Why an ostomy bag leaks, and how to fix the seal
Leaks often come down to fit and skin prep. MedlinePlus sets out how to measure the stoma, prepare the skin and get a seal to hold.
5 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Why removing lymph nodes leaves a lasting swelling risk
Lymph node surgery and radiation disrupt the system that drains lymph fluid. NCI explains why swelling can appear soon after treatment or years later.
5 min read · Beginner
Eating & Nutrition
Eating When Swallowing Is Hard
Some cancers and treatments make swallowing painful or difficult. Softer-food ideas and safety tips — and when to get help — based on NCI patient education.
4 min read · Beginner
Side Effects
Edema vs. Lymphedema in Cancer
Edema and lymphedema both cause swelling, but they can have different causes and treatments in cancer care.
4 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Flying with lymphedema: what the guidance recommends
If you are prescribed a compression sleeve, MedlinePlus lymphedema guidance says to wear it when flying and, if possible, keep the arm above heart level on long flights.
5 min read · Beginner
Treatments
Handling and storing cancer pills safely at home
Cancer tablets brought home need care in how they are stored, swallowed and disposed of. MedlinePlus describes the practical precautions.
4 min read · Beginner
Side Effects
Head and Neck Lymphedema After Cancer Treatment
Head and neck lymphedema after cancer treatment: why swelling happens in the face, neck, or throat, how it affects swallowing and voice, and therapy.
5 min read · Beginner
Childhood Cancer
Helping a Child Take Medicine During Cancer Treatment
Practical questions for parents when a child struggles with cancer medicines, taste, swallowing, nausea, fear, routines, or missed doses.
7 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Intimacy after surgery that leaves you with a stoma
NCI names the worries people with an ostomy describe, like leaks, equipment and going out in public, and points to counseling and open talk with a partner.
4 min read · Beginner
Symptoms
Is Arm or Leg Swelling a Sign of Cancer?
Swelling in an arm or leg has many causes, including blood clots, infection and lymphedema. Here is when to get help.
4 min read · Beginner
Symptoms
Is Trouble Swallowing a Sign of Cancer?
New trouble swallowing is a reason to call your doctor soon, not to wait and see. Here is why, what the direction of change means, and what gets tested.
5 min read · Beginner
Life After Treatment
Limb Loss and Amputation After Sarcoma
Planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support for limb loss and amputation after sarcoma.
8 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Living with a new colostomy: the daily routine
A colostomy brings one end of the large intestine out through an opening in the abdomen. MedlinePlus explains the basics of what to expect and who teaches you.
5 min read · Beginner
Life After Treatment
Long-Term Swallowing, Bowel, Bladder, and Sexual Effects
Guidance on long-term swallowing, bowel, bladder, and sexual effects: planning steps, questions, safety limits, and care-team support.
9 min read · Beginner
Treatments
Lumpectomy vs Mastectomy: How to Compare
Lumpectomy with radiation and mastectomy give the same survival in early breast cancer. Compare recurrence, radiation, reconstruction, and flat closure.
6 min read · Beginner
Caregivers
Lymphedema Garments and Compression
Compression garments can help some people manage lymphedema, but fit and training matter.
6 min read · Beginner
Caregivers
Ostomy Care During Cancer Treatment
Some cancers or surgeries require an ostomy, and patients need teaching, supplies, and skin-care support.
7 min read · Beginner
Life After Treatment
Prostheses After Cancer Surgery: Questions and Planning
Breast forms, artificial eyes, oral and facial prostheses after cancer surgery: who fits them, when fitting can start, and what insurance must cover.
8 min read · Beginner
Life After Treatment
Reconstruction After Cancer Surgery
Implant and flap reconstruction after cancer surgery: how each works, how radiation affects timing, complications, and what federal law requires plans cover.
8 min read · Beginner
Prevention & Risk
Red dye 3: why it was pulled and what it means for cancer
FDA is withdrawing FD&C Red No. 3 from food and swallowed medicines. The reason is a legal rule about rat studies, not proof the dye harms people.
4 min read · Beginner
Costs & Practical Help
Rehabilitation, Skilled Nursing, or Home Health?
How Medicare's three post-hospital benefits differ: inpatient rehab, skilled nursing facility care, and home health, with eligibility and cost for each.
9 min read · Beginner
Exercise & Healthy Living
Returning to Exercise After Cancer Surgery
Questions to ask before returning to exercise after cancer surgery, including lifting limits, drains, wounds, fatigue, and rehabilitation.
8 min read · Beginner
Eating & Nutrition
Smoothies and Liquid Nutrition During Treatment
When smoothies, shakes, soups, and nutrition drinks may help during cancer treatment, and what to ask about safety, protein, sugar, and swallowing.
7 min read · Beginner
Exercise & Healthy Living
Stretching After Cancer Surgery: What to Ask
Questions about safe stretching after cancer surgery, including drains, incisions, lifting limits, lymphedema risk, and physical therapy referrals.
7 min read · Beginner
Side Effects
Swallowing therapy during radiation to the head and neck
NCI describes speech therapists assessing swallowing and giving therapy during head and neck cancer care, with jaw exercises for stiffness.
4 min read · Beginner
Eating & Nutrition
When Eating Enough Is Hard: What to Ask
Questions to ask when cancer treatment makes it hard to eat enough because of appetite loss, nausea, pain, swallowing, or fatigue.
6 min read · Beginner
Living With Cancer
Why needles and tight cuffs are kept off the at-risk arm
MedlinePlus lymphedema guidance: have blood draws, IVs and shots in the other arm, and don't wrap anything tightly around the affected limb.
4 min read · Beginner