The James Cancer Hospital is a leader is helping cancer patients deal with the pain that can be associated with treatment. “Our inpatient oncology rehabilitation service is the first in Ohio, the second in the United States and the third in the world to be accredited,” said Whitney Luke, MD, medical director of oncology rehabilitation at Ohio State. “We now have an inpatient and an outpatient oncology rehabilitation program, and I could not have developed these programs if I wasn’t at a comprehensive cancer center like this,” added Luke, who led the creation of these programs and is a pioneer in the field of pain management for cancer patients. “I’m so fortunate to be at a hospital where I could grow these programs and where we have so many experts in so many different fields.” Luke described how some cancer treatments can lead to varying levels of pain for patients, and why it is important to work with each patient to develop a plan to reduce their pain. “Our team includes oncologists and physicians, physical, occupational and speech therapists, social workers, psychologist; the goal is to improve functional outcomes for patients so they will better tolerate treatments and get them home doing the things they normally do.” Some of the many medical options for treating pain include: injecting joints with a combination of steroids and anesthesia; implanting a device in the spine that provides electrical stimulation at regular intervals; an internal pain pump that releases medication directly to the points of pain; and the use of ablations (heat) to clock nerves. “When I have a patient who was in severe pain come back and tell me they were able to go to their daughter’s wedding and feel normal, that opportunity to help patients during their cancer journey, that’s what motivates me,” Luke said.