Introduction:

The innovations that happened in the last decades in the different therapeutic modalities, in which the treatment strategies used in the oncological disease stood out, are associated with a growing interest for the potentiality of rehabilitation in the person who has been diagnosed with cancer, since they are part of a specific population with particular needs.

Objetives:

The goal of this review is to consider the effort made by rehabilitation nursing to plan its part in the rehabilitation of cancer patients. This reflection includes specialized clinical practice, education, investigation and a description of the professional organizations’ role.

Methods:

A narrative review was performed.

Results:

Rehabilitation Nurses (RN) have the skills to provide care to people diagnosed with oncological disease with limitations in their self-care, reduced mobility and social interactions, in transient or irreversible stages of the disease, as well as with normal limitations resulting from aging.

Conclusions:

The intervention of RN, in this practical context, contributes to symptom control, minimizes the manifestations of the oncological disease and/or the sequels associated with treatments and promotes autonomy. At the same time, RN intends to help people live with meaning and quality of life, in all stages of the disease, may this be temporary, advanced and progressive or irreversible.

        · abstract in Portuguese | Spanish     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )