Report of a Patient with Cancer Being Admitted to Palliative Care Ward whose Rehabilitation Training outside the Hospital Led to the Intention to Start Treatment / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

ABSTRACT

Rehabilitation therapy is important for patients with cancer, especially for those with terminal stage cancer who have physical malfunction and psychological distress. By setting goals according to patients' wishes, rehabilitation therapy may positively affect physical activity. In this study, we reported the implementation of rehabilitation training outside the hospital as a rehabilitation treatment. A 64-year-old man was diagnosed as having multiple brain metastases from lung cancer. The patient was admitted to the palliative care ward without active treatment according to his wish and was referred to the rehabilitation department. The patient had mild right hemiplegia at the time of initial examination and therefore required assistance for walking and eating. On the 51st day of the intervention, he requested to visit the ramen restaurant of his friend, which recently opened. Going out independently to the restaurant served as his practical training for improving his quality of life (QOL). This outing further expanded his activities of daily living, which made him motivated to treat his cancer. On the 71st day of intervention, he was discharged from the hospital and underwent outpatient examination. Therefore, the role of treatment in palliative care is to achieve the highest possible QOL. In this case, providing options according to the patients' wishes, such as outing, is believed to be effective in cancer treatment