Lymphedema & Cancer Rehab | Stephenson Physical Therapy
Stephenson Physical Therapy
A physical therapist holds an older woman’s hands during a warm, reassuring conversation.

Lymphedema & Cancer Rehab

Reclaim Your Body After Cancer.

Cancer treatment asks everything of your body — recovery deserves the same expertise.

Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy save lives — and they also leave their mark, on range of motion, on the lymphatic system, on bladder, bowel, and sexual function. As a Certified Lymphedema Therapist, I help breast- and gynecologic-cancer survivors rebuild strength, manage swelling, and feel at home in their bodies again.

A physical therapist fits a compression sleeve on a woman in a head scarf during cancer rehabilitation.

Post-surgical breast rehabilitation restores shoulder range of motion, softens scar tissue, and lowers lymphedema risk. When lymphedema is already present, Complete Lymphedema Therapy — manual lymphatic drainage, compression, and targeted exercise — keeps it managed. And because cancer treatment often affects the pelvic floor, I also address the bladder, bowel, and intimacy changes that survivors are too rarely told to expect.

The American Cancer Society offers patient-facing guidance on lymphedema risk and management.

Specialized treatments

  • Breast Cancer Recovery — Scar management, range-of-motion restoration, lymphedema prevention, and return to activity.
  • Lymphedema Management (CLT) — Manual lymphatic drainage, compression-garment fitting, and exercise prescription.
  • Gynecological Surgery Recovery — Pelvic floor rehab and scar work after hysterectomy, endometriosis excision, or ovarian surgery.
  • Pelvic Health After Cancer — Addressing the bladder, bowel, and sexual side effects of surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

Survivorship is a stage of care in its own right. Let’s make sure yours includes a body that moves, feels, and functions the way you want it to.

What I treat

Conditions and care

Lymphedema care

  • Manual lymphatic drainage
  • Compression-garment fitting
  • Lymphedema prevention & management

Cancer rehabilitation

  • Breast-cancer post-surgical rehab
  • Scar-tissue management
  • Range-of-motion restoration
  • Pelvic health after cancer
  • Gynecological surgery recovery

Good to know

Common questions

A CLT is specially trained to prevent and manage lymphedema — the swelling that can follow cancer treatment. That care includes manual lymphatic drainage to move fluid, proper compression-garment fitting, and tailored exercise, all built around your stage of recovery.

Often sooner than people expect — early, gentle rehabilitation helps restore shoulder range of motion, supports healthy scar formation, and reduces lymphedema risk. We start where your body is and progress at a pace that respects your healing.

Yes. Beyond lymphedema, treatment can bring tissue tightness, fatigue, and pelvic, bladder, or sexual changes. Physical therapy addresses these directly, helping you regain function and comfort as part of survivorship care.

Explore more care

Related services

Osteoporosis & Bone HealthOsteoporosis and bone health with safe, Pilates-based strength and posture.Pelvic Floor & Bladder HealthUrinary leakage, urgency, frequency, and pelvic organ prolapse — for all genders.Pelvic Pain & Sexual HealthChronic pelvic pain, pudendal neuralgia, and painful intimacy, treated with compassion.

Your recovery is not finished until you say it is.

Ready to start?