HEALERS SPOTLIGHT: The Oncology Rehabilitation Work of Sarah Blount

 F O R E W O R D : 

Rehabilitation: The Missing Chapter in Cancer Care
By Dr. Robert L. Bard, Diagnostic Imaging Specialist & Director, AngioMedical Institute

In every cancer journey, there are two battles — the one fought in the operating room and infusion suite, and the one that follows when the patient is asked to return to “normal life.” Too often, modern oncology stops at remission, leaving behind the scars, stiffness, pain, and fatigue that no scan or lab result can fully measure. This is where professionals like Sarah Blount, PT, CLT, and her partner Caitlyn Pennington, SLP, redefine what survival truly means.

As a diagnostic specialist, I have spent decades visualizing the cellular and vascular aftermath of cancer therapies. My imaging tools — ultrasound, Doppler, elastography, thermography — can reveal how radiation hardens tissue, how surgery alters lymphatic flow, and how fibrosis begins silently beneath the skin. What Sarah and Caitlyn do is translate those unseen pathologies into function, movement, and hope. Their work bridges the gap between technology and humanity.

Sarah’s dual expertise in oncologic rehabilitation, lymphedema, and pelvic health is nothing short of remarkable. She treats what medicine too often overlooks — the post-treatment patient who is “cleared” but not yet healed. From shoulder mobility after mastectomy to pelvic pain from anti-hormone therapy, she restores the body’s rhythm after cancer’s disruption. And through Caitlyn’s mastery of speech and swallow rehabilitation for head and neck cancer, they together return to patients something even more profound than mobility: the ability to communicate, to eat, to connect.

In my clinical world, I see the structural evidence of their victories. Imaging can show that a scar has softened, that circulation has improved, that tissue elasticity has returned. But what cannot be captured in pixels is the confidence that follows — the joy of reclaiming one’s life. Sarah’s Cancer Rehab Group represents the future of comprehensive care. It answers the unspoken question so many survivors face: What now?

“After treatment is about getting back to quality of life,” I often tell my patients. “Healing is not complete until you can move, breathe, and live without fear.”

This is why the field of rehabilitation medicine in oncology deserves major recognition. We celebrate surgeons, radiologists, and oncologists — and rightly so. But the heroes who guide patients back from the edge, who retrain the body and rebuild confidence, must be equally honored. Without their work, recovery remains incomplete.

In Sarah Blount, I see the embodiment of compassionate science — a clinician who understands anatomy and empathy in equal measure. And in her partnership with Caitlyn Pennington, we see a model for integrative survivorship: the physical, functional, and emotional restoration that marks the true end of cancer care.

To the broader medical community, I urge this simple message: rehabilitation is not an afterthought — it is the continuation of healing. Sarah and Caitlyn remind us that survival is more than statistics. It’s the ability to move freely, speak clearly, and live fully again.

— Dr. Robert L. Bard, NY Proton Center / AngioMedical Institute
New York, NY

 FEATURE STORY: The Oncology Rehabilitation Work of Sarah Blount

Restoring Function, Rebuilding Hope

For most patients, the end of cancer treatment marks the beginning of another journey — one less visible but equally challenging: recovery. Few understand this process better than Sarah Blount, a physical therapist whose career has been defined by restoring movement, confidence, and dignity to cancer survivors. With 15 years of experience — the last decade spent at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Indianapolis — Blount has become one of the nation’s emerging voices in oncology rehabilitation.

“My mission,” she explains, “is to help patients not just survive cancer care, but get back to living a full life — whether that means regaining the ability to swallow, play catch with their children, or move without pain.”

A Dual Expertise: Lymphedema and Pelvic Health
Blount’s path into oncology rehab began with her certification as a Lymphedema Therapist, addressing one of the most common yet misunderstood side effects of cancer treatment. Over time, she expanded her scope to include pelvic health therapy, creating a unique, whole-body approach to patient care. “I like to take care of the entire patient,” Blount says. “From head and neck to the pelvis, wherever their treatment has affected them, I want to be able to help.”

Her dual specialization allows her to treat a wide spectrum of patients — from breast cancer survivors managing shoulder stiffness and swelling to men recovering from prostate cancer coping with incontinence and pelvic pain. She also treats women experiencing severe vaginal dryness and pain related to anti-hormone therapy, often an overlooked side effect of breast cancer medication.

“I’ve had patients so sensitive to anti-estrogen medication that their tissues would bleed just from wiping,” she recalls. “Helping them regain comfort, confidence, and intimacy is deeply rewarding.”

Teamwork in Cancer Recovery
Much of Blount’s career has been shaped by her decade-long collaboration with speech-language pathologist Caitlyn Pennington, with whom she co-founded Cancer Rehab Group, a specialized private practice. Together, they developed integrated protocols for patients recovering from head and neck cancers, combining physical therapy and speech pathology to restore swallowing, jaw opening, and communication.

Pennington’s advanced imaging and swallow studies offered Blount a new appreciation for internal lymphedema, a hidden yet critical cause of swallowing dysfunction. “Working together allowed us to identify swelling that wasn’t visible from the outside,” Blount notes. “That insight let us advocate for our patients and secure the medical equipment they needed to regain function — sometimes even helping them eat and speak again.”

Rehabilitation Beyond Survival
For Blount, cancer rehabilitation isn’t a luxury — it’s essential care. Every treatment modality, from surgery to radiation to chemotherapy, leaves behind physical and functional scars. “A physical therapist trained in oncology knows how to screen for and manage the side effects of every stage of cancer treatment,” she explains. “Whether it’s pain, scar tightness, swelling, or fatigue — early intervention helps minimize suffering and speeds recovery.”

She describes lymphedema as both a medical and quality-of-life issue. Swelling, if unmanaged, can harden into fibrotic tissue that limits motion, heightens infection risk, and slows wound healing. “The longer you’re swollen, the harder it becomes to reverse,” she says. “Identifying and treating it early can make all the difference.”

Recent advances in compression technology have transformed lymphedema care, giving patients more autonomy. “When I started, we used complex wraps like ACE bandages, and compliance was difficult,” she recalls. “Now, new compression garments and pneumatic pumps — including head-and-neck versions — let patients manage their swelling at home with much better results.”

Expanding the Science of Healing
During her recent exchange with Dr. Robert Bard, director of the Angio Medical Institute in New York and a pioneer in diagnostic imaging, Blount was introduced to emerging tools such as ultrasound elastography, thermography, and OligoScan analysis for heavy-metal toxicity — technologies that could one day complement her work in post-cancer rehabilitation.

“Personally and professionally, I’m intrigued by Dr. Bard’s work,” Blount reflected after their discussion. “The more we can see inside our oncology patients — the more we understand what’s happening physiologically — the safer and more effective our care becomes. Outcomes are best when intervention is early, and his technologies give us a new window into the body.”

The integration of diagnostic imaging with rehabilitation is a frontier both Blount and Bard see as transformative. By visualizing fibrosis, scar density, and lymphatic blockages in real time, clinicians could tailor therapy with unprecedented precision — detecting issues long before symptoms worsen.

From Hospital to Private Practice
In founding Cancer Rehab Group, Blount and Pennington sought to break through institutional barriers and bring specialized care directly to survivors. “We loved our time at MD Anderson,” she says, “but there wasn’t much room for program growth. We wanted to expand access and awareness for oncology rehab, and private practice allowed us to do that.”

Their clinic provides personalized, one-on-one sessions addressing everything from mobility and wound healing to sexual function and speech recovery. They also serve as educators for the broader medical community, emphasizing that cancer recovery doesn’t end when treatment stops.

“For some patients,” Blount explains, “rehab means getting back the ability to swallow. For others, it’s dressing independently, or feeling confident in their body again. These are milestones of dignity and independence — and they deserve the same attention as curing the disease itself.”

Technology and Tools for Healing
Behind Sarah Blount’s hands-on therapy is a thoughtful integration of modern rehabilitation technology. Among her most valuable tools is a device called PhysioTouch — a gentle, vacuum-assisted system that enhances tissue mobility and reduces fibrosis in ways that manual therapy alone cannot achieve. “It’s similar to cupping,” she explains, “but it gives us more control over pressure and direction, allowing us to lift scars, soften radiated tissue, and restore movement where the body feels restricted.” For patients whose tissues have been hardened by surgery or radiation, this method can dramatically improve circulation, reduce discomfort, and accelerate healing.

Blount also emphasizes the use of pneumatic compression systems for lymphedema management — particularly for head and neck cancer survivors, where internal swelling can limit speech and swallowing. Combined with advanced compression garments and manual lymphatic drainage, these technologies give patients greater independence and long-term control of their recovery.

Her curiosity doesn’t stop there. After her discussion with Dr. Robert Bard, Blount expressed deep interest in learning about the emerging world of ultrasound elastography, Doppler imaging, thermography, and OligoScan testing — diagnostic technologies that visualize tissue health and toxicity at a level most therapists never see. “The more I can understand what’s happening inside my patients,” she said, “the better I can tailor treatment to what their bodies truly need.”

For Blount, technology isn’t a substitute for touch — it’s an extension of insight, bridging science with compassionate care.

A Collaborative Future
Blount believes the next era of oncology rehab will be defined by collaboration — between physical therapists, oncologists, imaging specialists, and innovators in regenerative and cellular medicine. Her discussions with Bard revealed striking synergies: both are driven by a vision of non-invasive, precision-guided recovery, where technology empowers human touch rather than replacing it.

As she puts it, “We’re all working toward the same goal — helping people heal from cancer in every sense, not just eliminating the tumor.”

The growing alliance between imaging-based diagnostics and functional rehabilitation offers new hope for survivors facing long-term complications. From thermographic monitoring of tissue recovery to the study of artificial skin for wound healing, Blount sees a horizon where science and compassion meet.

Education, Access, and Awareness
Education remains central to her mission. Alongside patient care, Blount and Pennington devote significant energy to training other clinicians to recognize the value of oncology-specific rehab. “There’s a tremendous lack of awareness,” Blount emphasizes. “Patients are told to ‘give it two years and hope for the best.’ We reject that. There are things we can do — right now — to help.”

Through workshops, digital outreach, and partnerships with advocacy networks like the Women’s Health Collaborative and the Angio Institute, the Cancer Rehab Group is broadening public understanding of rehabilitation’s role in survivorship.

Restoring Life After Cancer
Ultimately, Blount’s work is about restoring quality of life — the ability to move freely, feel whole, and participate in the moments that make survival meaningful. Her practice stands as a reminder that rehabilitation is not the epilogue to cancer care but part of its core narrative.

“Cancer changes everything,” she says, “but recovery is where patients rediscover who they are. Every small victory — a step, a breath, a smile — is part of healing. And we’re here to make those victories possible.”