What's in a name?

The report by Roanne Segal and colleagues on the Oncology Rehabilitation Program at the Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre1 is interesting, but they do not describe how this program differs from those designed for other diseases. For the label "Oncology Rehabilitation Program" to be valid, the program should deal specifically with the effects of cancer. Programs are needed to strengthen muscles that may be weakened as a result of peripheral neuropathy, loss of muscle bulk from chemotherapy or the tiredness that can accompany cancer.

The weakness seen in many cancer patients is different from that in patients with other diseases and it requires different techniques. Attention should also be given to problems such as lymphedema following radiation and the pain that accompanies many tumours.