Rehabilitation for persons with cancer
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Rehabilitation for persons with cancer is intended for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with cancer. You can participate in the rehabilitation course alone or together with your partner. Rehabilitation is offered in the form of group rehabilitation. The group meets on the service provider’s premises.
The rehabilitation course is free of charge.
Who is the rehabilitation course for?
Rehabilitation for persons with cancer is suited for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with cancer and
- who are almost finished with the initial stage of treatment
- who have finished treatment
- who are in the follow-up stage of treatment.
The date and time of the rehabilitation course is set based on your situation.
Rehabilitation is offered separately for the following target groups:
- young adults (aged 18–39)
- middle-aged adults (aged 40–64)
- older adults (aged 65 and over)
Aim of rehabilitation
This rehabilitation course will help you adapt to the changes and new reality brought on by your condition.
The aim of rehabilitation is to
- secure and improve your capacity for work and study and your functional capacity
- support the self-treatment of your condition
- improve your life management skills and help you find ways to continue to live a full and independent life to the best extent possible despite your condition.
The rehabilitation course also offers you the opportunity to get support from your peers and share your experiences with others.
How rehabilitation works
The rehabilitation course will be held on the service provider’s premises. It lasts for 5 days. You can stay overnight at the rehabilitation facility or travel there from home each day.
During the rehabilitation course, you will, for example, work in small groups, participate in group discussions and have one-on-one meetings with rehabilitation experts. The rehabilitation needs and goals of each participant are taken into account.
The service provider will contact you before and after the rehabilitation course.
The facility offers accommodation in two-person rooms (double rooms). If you want to stay in a single room, you can ask the service provider if they have single rooms available. You have to pay the extra costs of staying in a single room yourself.
The rehabilitation course is offered in Finnish. If you speak Swedish or one of the Sámi languages, Kela will provide an interpreter for you. If you speak Swedish, you can also choose to participate in the Swedish rehabilitation course offered for participants with a partner even if you do not have a partner.
If you participate in the rehabilitation course with your partner or another close adult family member or friend, they will accompany you for the entire duration of the rehabilitation course. You can stay overnight at the rehabilitation facility or travel there from home each day. Your partner, family member or friend will usually stay in the same double room with you if you are staying at the rehabilitation facility.
The rehabilitation course is offered separately in Finnish and Swedish. Even though this rehabilitation course is intended for persons who participate together with a partner, family member or friend, Swedish-speaking solo clients can still participate in the course offered in Swedish. The course is offered in Finnish to Sámi-speaking customers. They can be assigned an interpreter if necessary.
The experts involved in your rehabilitation
The following experts will plan and manage your rehabilitation programme:
- an oncologist
- an oncology nurse, registered nurse or public health nurse
- a psychologist
- a physiotherapist or exercise instructor.
Other rehabilitation professionals may also contribute to your rehabilitation depending on your individual needs.
How to apply
You need a medical statement B (B-lausunto) or some other statement on your health issued by a doctor to apply for rehabilitation for persons with cancer. For example, you can submit a copy of your medical history (sairauskertomus). The medical statement B or health statement must state what condition you have that qualifies you for rehabilitation, how well you can function, what kind of rehabilitation is recommended for you and why. The medical statement B or health statement must be dated within the past year.
After you get your medical statement B or health statement, do as follows:
- Complete the application form for discretionary rehabilitation KU 132 (PDF, in Finnish).
- Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
- Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
- Tell us in the application which service provider’s rehabilitation you want to participate in. The service provider you choose can be located anywhere in Finland. Use Kela’s service provider (in Finnish and Swedish only) search to look up rehabilitation service providers.
- Save the completed application form on your device. Note that the application must be in PDF format.
- Send the application in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
- Log in to OmaKela and select Tee hakemus (File an application). If you want to apply for rehabilitation on behalf of someone else, go to Asioi toisen henkilön puolesta (Act on behalf of another person). Read more about acting on behalf of another person.
- First select Sairastaminen ja kuntoutus (Sickness and rehabilitation). Then select Kuntoutus – tee hakemus (Rehabilitation – Submit an application). Finally, select Harkinnanvarainen kuntoutus (Discretionary rehabilitation).
- If you send your application to Kela in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
- If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them.
- Send us a copy of your medical statement B or the other statement on your health your doctor has issued to you as a supporting document with your application.
- Visit OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application. You will also get a decision by post if you have not opted out of paper mail. We will also send the decision notice to the rehabilitation service provider. This tells the service provider that Kela will pay for your rehabilitation, and the service provider will reserve a place for you on the rehabilitation course.
If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Apply for rehabilitation
Submit your application and supporting documents online.
Let us know if you cannot attend rehabilitation
Remember to tell Kela immediately if you cannot participate in the rehabilitation course. Let us know that you have to cancel by sending a message to us in the OmaKela e-service or by calling our customer service number for rehabilitation clients.
We recommend that you also contact the service provider to let them know you have to cancel.
Check if you can get rehabilitation allowance and travel cost reimbursements
Kela pays rehabilitation allowance to give you financial security during rehabilitation. Kela may also reimburse you for rehabilitation-related travel costs.