Support for Adrenal Tumors
ºÙºÙÊÓƵ doctors are closely involved in the follow-up care for people with adrenal tumors. Our endocrinologists help ensure that your hormone levels are stable after treatment by monitoring you with blood and urine tests and imaging scans.
You may need to see your doctor every six months to a year after your initial treatment. If you are taking the chemotherapy drug mitotane, you may need to be seen more often to ensure that your hormone levels are normal. Mitotane can destroy healthy adrenal tissue as well as cancerous tissue, so hormone levels may be low.
ºÙºÙÊÓƵ offers a variety of support services to help you manage adrenal tumors during and after treatment.
Physical Rehabilitation
After an evaluation by our doctors at Rusk Rehabilitation, physical therapists can help you get out of the hospital bed and start moving after adrenal surgery, so you can return home quickly. Our doctors also prescribe medications for postoperative pain and discomfort, which can affect your mobility.
Rusk Rehabilitation specialists can create a rehabilitation program that helps you optimize your independence at home and in the community. The program focuses on strength training and aerobic exercise to address tumor-related weakness and fatigue. It also aims to improve balance, flexibility, and mobility.
Nutrition
Our doctors encourage good nutrition for your overall health as a part follow-up care for an adrenal tumor. Registered oncology dietitians at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ’s Perlmutter Cancer Center provide nutrition education and counseling.
Psychological and Social Work Support
Support groups and one-on-one counseling sessions with a psycho-oncologist, a healthcare provider who is trained to address the psychological needs of people with cancer, are available at the Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Counseling can often help alleviate any anxiety or depression you may experience after your diagnosis or during the treatment process. Social workers at Perlmutter Cancer Center are also available to help you address any financial challenges or issues regarding insurance reimbursement during treatment.
Supportive Care
Our supportive care team provides ongoing treatment for any discomfort you may experience during or after treatment for an adrenal tumor. Pain management can include integrative therapies, which are available at the Perlmutter Cancer Center. These include massage therapy, which can help reduce stress, and acupuncture, which may relieve tumor-related pain and the fatigue associated with chemotherapy or hormonal changes.
Neuropathy Treatment
Chemotherapy drugs used to treat a malignant tumor, such as an adrenocortical carcinoma, may cause neuropathy, or nerve damage. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, pain, and weakness in the hands, feet, arms, legs, or other parts of the body.
After an evaluation by ºÙºÙÊÓƵ’s Rusk Rehabilitation specialists, they can prescribe medication to ease the discomfort caused by neuropathy, and can recommend a rehabilitation program to help you maintain your balance, strength, and ability to perform daily activities.