Nicole van Kleef

Since January 2019, I have been working as a rehabilitation doctor at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. As a rehabilitation doctor, I now have 17 years of experience in guiding and treating people with chronic conditions who have problems with daily functioning as a result. We also have common complaints with cancer, such as physical and mental fatigue, loss of condition, anxiety and insecurity. This can make daily activities more difficult and cause problems in normal functioning.

At the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the referral to the rehabilitation doctor is always made by your treating medical specialist in the hospital. This can be done in all phases of the condition: during or after the original curative cancer treatment, but also in the palliative phase, when a cure is no longer possible, but it is very important for you to be able to perform valuable activities satisfactorily.

As a rehabilitation doctor, I think it is important to give you as much explanation as possible and to work with you to find the most appropriate rehabilitation care. We can provide advice or referral for rehabilitation in your own region or start specialist medical treatment in our own AVL rehabilitation team. All these therapists in this team work together under the guidance of the rehabilitation doctor to optimize your activities as much as possible. Which practitioners are involved with you depends on your question. Of course, you yourself have the most important role in this rehabilitation process and this is closely monitored during the treatment in order to achieve the best result together.