A Certified PINC & STEEL Cancer Rehab Physiotherapist will work with you one on one and design each session to suit your individual requirements. These sessions can be accessed any time throughout your cancer treatment or recovery.
Delivered by certified Cancer Rehab Physiotherapists, our programs offer expert care and support at every stage - from diagnosis, through treatment, and recovery.
Helping Recovery happen sooner: Early access to rehabilitation is key to preventing long-term decline. Our two access pathways ensure support is available early, while prioritising funding for those with the greatest need.
Pathway 1: Rehab Access – Universal service pathway
Connect directly with certified cancer rehabilitation physiotherapists nationwide.
Available to anyone with cancer, at any stage, who can self-fund or use insurance — enabling fast access to expert support without long wait times.
Pathway 2: Foundation Financial Assistance – Targeted charitable support
Financial support is available for those who need it most.
Access to funding requires a medical referral and is based on eligibility criteria, ensuring limited charitable funds are prioritised for patients without other options.
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To learn more about the CHALLENGE programme, visit the Bowel Cancer New Zealand website.
Begin your rehabilitation journey by registering on our website here
Once registered, our Patient Navigator will email you the contact details of a certified oncology rehabilitation physiotherapist near you. They’ll be happy to answer any questions and guide you through the next steps.
If you choose to proceed, your physiotherapist will book you for an initial session. During this session, they’ll take the time to understand your personal needs, challenges, and goals. Based on this, they’ll create a personalised rehabilitation plan tailored just for you. This may include a mix of individual and group sessions to support your strength, function, and overall well-being.
A Medical referral is required if you need financial aid. The Foundation provides targeted financial assistance to help cover the cost of care for those who need it most. Financial Assistance
is not automatic and is subject to referral and eligibility criteria.
"PINC & STEEL for me was strength, support, and fellowship - finding myself as an individual with potential again, rather than just a cancer patient."
- John Wilkinson
Pre Op Phase – is designed to help patients before their cancer treatment. It involves a pre-op assessment and education to identify any factors that may affect recovery from surgery and return to work. A pre-op rehab plan will be devised for each individual which will include specific exercises to strength muscles and improve stamina ; education and functional guidance.
* Post Op Phase – designed to assist in the healing process of patients who are recently post surgery. It aims to restore strength and flexibility to particular joints and muscle groups that have become weak and inflexible as a result of surgery. Includes manual physiotherapy and gentle modified exercises to maximise recovery from surgery, education and functional guidance for home and work.
* Treatment Phase – designed to improve energy levels and maintain health during cancer treatments to reduce the impact on physical functioning and overall conditioning. It aims to help patients manage fatigue, flexibility, strength and stamina to reduce time off work, muscle wasting and functional impairment. In addition to focusing on stretching and strengthening exercises for the upper and lower extremities, it contains workouts to improve abdominal strength and spinal stability; education about fatigue management, home and work based modifications and cardiovascular exercise.
* Survivorship Phase – Designed to facilitate overall conditioning to increase physical stamina after treatments are completed. It aims to improve cardiovascular fitness, strength and flexibility to increase endurance, elevate the metabolism, improve muscle tone and body composition. The exercise selection focuses on improving physical functioning to maximise recovery to return to work, and living a full and productive life. Education on fatigue management, return to work, sport and leisure activities.