Rehabilitation after cancer
I’m not sure if any of you have noticed but I’ve got quite an oddly shaped body. With the loss of my kidney at 8 years old I became a little bit lop sided.
Being the amazing body it is the left kidney grew in size to compensate for the loss of the right so I’m a bit chunkier on my left. My rib cage is also a bit skew whiff and the left side sticks out way more than the right. Added to this I also have a curved spine.
After a period of time being unable to walk properly after developing DVT at 21, I lost all confidence in my left leg and as a result I now walk with a slight limp.
My core (abdomen) has taken a bit of a beating from the operation I had to remove a section of my bowel. This led to a loss of confidence in my core strength and as a result I’m now pretty weak where once I was strong.
It is only after meeting a wonderful woman called Lou James have I now realised that perhaps there should have been more support for me during this time which would have helped with the long term physical and emotional effects of my cancer treatment. I met up with Lou in Auckland yesterday after one of the 101 gang, Hilary, told me about what Lou is doing and I just loved it.
Lou is the founder of the PINC and STEEL rehabilitation trust. She is an experienced physiotherapist and established the PINC programme after seeing the physical and mental toll that cancer had on the lives of women. In 2011 she introduced the male equivalent called the STEEL Program.
Lou’s programmes have helped thousands of people at every stage of their cancer treatment so they can minimise the side effects of treatment and help them have the best quality of life they can.
Talking to Lou I was instantly captivated by her passion and belief in these programs. We all know that exercise is good for both body and mind but Lou also explained to me the importance of informing patients of the reasons why they get pain where they do and showing them what exercises they can do to help alleviate it and make that area stronger.
The benefits of physiotherapy and certain exercises were something that have never really been mentioned to me during past illnesses which now seems ridiculous considering what my body went through. I think I would be a much stronger and more physically confident person if they had.
With cancer patients not really being eligible for free access to rehabilitation services Lou has set up a trust which raises money to help patients pay for this vital treatment.
PINC AND STEEL now operate in New Zealand, UK, Australia and South Africa.
You can find out more information at the website – http://www.pincandsteel.com/
To follow the PINC and STEEL Facebook page here – https://www.facebook.com/TeamPINC?ref=br_tf
This is well worth a look gang and if you have any similar issues to the ones I do then please try and see an expert like the specialists at PINC and Steel.
I have realised after chatting to Lou that there is a lot my body could benefit and improve upon by seeing an expert. When I get home I’m going to do just that
Keep up the amazing work Lou and all at PINC and STEEL.
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