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Cancer of the Digestive Organs: Importance of Mobility for Motility

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Cancer Rehabilitation

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Abstract

Cancers of the digestive organs encompass a wide variety of malignancies throughout the course of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These include upper GI (oral, gastroesophageal, stromal), lower GI (colorectal, anal), hepatobiliary (gall bladder, liver, cholangiocarcinoma) and pancreatic carcinomas. Colorectal cancers are most common. They are often caught early and are cured through surgical resection. Gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, and cholangiocarcinoma, while less common, are often more aggressive. This results in poorer outcomes and decreased 5-year survival rates. At the time of diagnosis, GI cancers may have already caused bowel dysfunction, abdominal pain, generalized weakness and cachexia. Further cancer rehabilitation challenges for this population include: deconditioning, profound muscle loss due to cachexia, cancer-related fatigue, cancer pain, peripheral neuropathy, bowel and bladder dysfunction, gait abnormality, impairment in self-care, insomnia, anorexia, malnutrition, and concomitant mood disorders (adjustment disorders, anxiety, and depressed mood.) Thus, the involvement of a physiatrist early after cancer diagnosis is important to provide supportive care through symptom management, optimization of physical function, and monitoring of body composition changes during treatment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    An Ngo-Huang

  2. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tom Baker Cancer Center, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    George Francis

Authors
  1. An Ngo-Huang
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  2. George Francis
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Correspondence to An Ngo-Huang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Jennifer Baima

  2. Physical Medicine and RehabilitationRutgers New Jersey Medical School, The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, West Orange, NY, USA

    Ashish Khanna

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Ngo-Huang, A., Francis, G. (2020). Cancer of the Digestive Organs: Importance of Mobility for Motility. In: Baima, J., Khanna, A. (eds) Cancer Rehabilitation . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44462-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44462-4_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-44461-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-44462-4

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