Support Services: Meeting Your Individual Needs

We provide healing services that complement your medical treatments in the hospital and our clinics on an outpatient basis. Learn more about our Cancer Support Community and integrative medicine services.

We offer rehabilitation services if you have been diagnosed, living with and/or are surviving cancer. Our Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute helps people with disabilities related to cancer and its treatment. We want you to reach the maximum level of function and independence while improving the quality of your life.

Our cancer rehabilitation services: 

• Help you manage life at home, work or leisure in ways that are less demanding physically
• Assist your caregivers by teaching proper body mechanics to protect them from injury
• Educate you and family members to prevent further dysfunction
• Establish a monitored exercise program to assist you in returning to the highest possible level of function
• Help you manage pain

• Educate both you and your family on the care, management and prevention of lymphedema (swelling in the arms and legs)

Our services include:

• Occupational therapy that focuses on your ability to manage daily life, including home, work and leisure activities
• Physical therapy that improves your mobility, strength and endurance to allow for maximum independence
• Postoperative breast cancer exercise, rehabilitation and lymphedema therapy
• Head and neck therapy, including prevention and treatment of trismus (lockjaw)
• Speech and language therapy that focuses on your ability to communicate and swallow effectively
• Lymphedema management to reduce and control swelling problems related to cancer treatment

The nutrition team at Orlando Health Cancer Institute offers education for patients, family members and our community about what to eat to prevent cancer and what to eat if you have been diagnosed with cancer. 

Nutrition education is provided by our registered, licensed dietitians. As dietitians, we work with the medical team to support you before, during and after treatment.

Our services include:

• Meal plans tailored to your needs
• Education on healthy eating for disease prevention
• Providing detailed information on vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements
• Managing side effects relating to treatment
• Arranging tube feeding for temporary nutritional support during treatment
• Continued follow-up visits for healthy living after treatment

Your visits with a dietitian are complementary if you are a patient, and we encourage regular follow-up appointments. Good nutrition plays a significant role in your recovery process.

You can also get a free NOURISH Recipe Collection from the editors of EatingWell. This recipe collection provides vibrant, healthy recipes for cancer treatment and recovery. Complete our form, to get your free NOURISH Recipe Collection. You can also visit our content hub for quick access to recipes.

If you would like to schedule an appointment with one of our registered dietitians, please ask your cancer care team for a referral. For more information about nutrition services, please call (321) 841-1055.

The mission of our Spiritual Care Department is to encourage the growth and healing of your mind, body and spirit by offering faith, hope and love. Our hospital chaplains are members of the team and provide clinical spiritual care.

Our chaplains offer a calming presence and safe environment for you to process everything from a personal crisis of faith to questions of meaning and purpose. Our chaplains walk alongside you on the health journey, providing a safe and warm "covering" in difficult times.

The Spiritual Care Department has been characterized by Joint Commission interviewers and state regulatory bodies as a "state-of-the-art" discipline, providing services that distinguish it from other programs across the country. For information, please call (321) 841-5290.

We understand that a cancer or hematology diagnosis can be difficult. You, your family and loved ones have access to free counseling at Orlando Health Cancer Institute.

Our counselors can help with:

• Adjusting to a new cancer diagnosis
• Body image and self-esteem
• Anxiety or fear of cancer recurrence
• Depression
• Family and relationship issues
• Grief and loss

Our Patient and Family Counseling Department offers educational programs, support groups and counseling to help you and your family. All of our counselors are licensed and have many years of experience in providing support and counseling from diagnosis through treatment and beyond.

To see a counselor while receiving outpatient treatment, please call (321) 841-1869 to schedule a free consultation. If you are admitted to the hospital for treatment, please ask your nurse or physician for a referral to see a counselor.