The National Cancer Institute has completed the first stage of creating a rehabilitation center

The National Cancer Institute has completed the first stage of a major project to create a rehabilitation center. On September 13, three new physical therapy rooms were opened, where up to 60 patients - both with cancer and wounded.

To implement the project, the Zaporuka Charitable Foundation allocated UAH 3.3 million. These funds were used to create a modern rehabilitation room with an area of 100 square meters, which includes:

- a room for gait recovery and training;

- space for individual and group lessons;

- a room for suspension therapy.

For the Zaporuka Charitable Foundation, participation in the creation of a new rehabilitation department - consistent and logical step, as 15 years ago she opened such a room for young patients in the children's department of the Cancer Institute.

"Rehabilitation is important for cancer patients from the first day after surgery. It helps a person adapt to the lost physical abilities and maintains faith in an active life after the disease. Until recently, only private clinics could offer rehabilitation services to patients. It is clear that not everyone could afford it. Now rehabilitation is funded by the state through medical guarantee programs, but appropriate conditions need to be created for services to be provided. That is why we immediately supported the National Cancer Institute in its desire to open the Rehabilitation Center as soon as possible. The first stage has been successfully completed, decent conditions for providing professional rehabilitation care have been created, but we are not stopping there.", - said Natalia Onipko, founder and president of the Zaporuka Charitable Foundation. 

A multidisciplinary team will provide assistance in the new physical therapy room. These are doctors of physical and rehabilitation medicine, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and clinical psychologists. Specialists are trained to work with patients with malignant tumors and precancerous pathology who undergo surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, neurorehabilitation, including rehabilitation after spinal cord injury, rehabilitation after amputation, rehabilitation after polytrauma, and orthopedic rehabilitation. The project is unique in that it is the first rehabilitation unit at an oncology facility in Ukraine. Rehabilitation services for cancer patients will be provided from the moment of diagnosis and throughout the entire period of treatment.

"The opening of physical therapy rooms is the first stage of a large project to create a physical and rehabilitation medicine department at a specialized oncology facility. Finally, patients with cancer will be able to receive timely rehabilitation care. Both adults and children. Both inpatients and outpatients. In addition, quality rehabilitation services will be provided to wounded soldiers and other war-affected populations", - comments Valeria Solovyova, Head of the Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine at the National Cancer Institute

The reconstruction and arrangement of the physical rehabilitation facilities were made possible with the support of the National Cancer Institute's management and thanks to the joint efforts of the Zaporuka Charitable Foundation team.

Support for the purchase of some of the equipment was provided under the RELIEF project, implemented by the Zaporuka Charitable Foundation and Soleterre ONLUS with the financial support of the Italian Agency for Cooperation Development (AICS).

Modern equipment was also provided as part of the World Health Organization Ukraine project to support the development of the rehabilitation department of the National Cancer Institute. In addition, the purchase of the necessary rehabilitation equipment and auxiliary equipment was supported by the following organizations: NGO "Dopomoga 0572 - Social Assistance", Kin-Top e.V. Förderungszentrum, CO "Action for Ukraine" and CO "CF "Power of Ukrainians Unity".