7 Quick Questions with Cancer Rehab Doctor Alyssa Mixon

Cancer and cancer treatment often causes pain, muscle weakness, and other issues. As a cancer rehabilitation (rehab) doctor, Alyssa Mixon, DO, MBA, helps patients function better and improve their quality of life. She helps with conditions related to cancer treatment, such as lymphedema.

As a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO), Mixon can also help patients with manipulative treatments that help with muscle, bone, or soft tissue pain and discomfort.

Meet a Charlottesville-Based Cancer Rehab Doctor

We asked Mixon to answer our 7 quick questions.

1. Why did you become a doctor/provider?

As a cheerleader growing up, I always strived to embody the spirit of believing in and motivating others. I wanted to find a career path that fostered my intellectual curiosity along with my innate desire to help and encourage others. With a passion for the arts and sciences, I found medicine and especially osteopathic medicine to be the perfect blend of treating the patient as a whole: body, mind, and spirit.

My love for teaching, healing, and innovation led me to a rewarding specialty where I have the opportunity to change, build, and improve the quality of life for my patients.

2. Why did you choose your specialty?

I remember as a medical student walking into the therapy gym and seeing a patient who, a month prior, was unable to stand. After being treated by rehabilitation specialists, she was able to walk across the room and hug her children. I realized in that moment, I wanted to be the doctor who helped her achieve these functional goals.

When I mentioned this to my father, he told me about the field of physiatry (also known as physical medicine and rehabilitation or PM&R). Having worked in PM&R research years before I was born, he taught me about how physiatrists optimize a patient’s function, enhancing and restoring their abilities to improve their quality of life with a focus on musculoskeletal and neurologic issues. PM&R doctors work closely with physical, occupational, and speech therapists along with other healthcare professionals in a multi-disciplinary team approach that focuses on teamwork, communication, and progress.

During my time in residency, I was drawn to working with the cancer population. I found myself surrounded by patients who demonstrated determination, resilience, and enthusiasm. I wanted to help make a positive difference in their lives. This led me to pioneer the cancer rehabilitation fellowship program at the University of Pennsylvania.

3. What’s one thing about your specialty that might surprise people?

I think many people are surprised that my medical subspecialty of cancer rehabilitation exists. It is a small but growing field that is very much needed, especially given the increase in survivorship. Cancer rehabilitation is an area of medicine that focuses specifically on the functional and rehabilitative needs of patients with cancer, many of whom are underserved.

This includes conditions before, during, and after treatment like lymphedema, chemotherapy-induced and radiation-induced neuropathies, and other musculoskeletal and neurologic conditions.

4. What’s the most exciting thing/research happening in your field right now?

In my subspecialty of cancer rehabilitation, there are so many opportunities for research. One area that is currently drawing more interest is “prehabilitation.”

Prehabilitation is when we implement a treatment plan for our patients as soon as they are diagnosed with cancer to help increase strength and function prior to receiving treatment. These include exercises, therapy, and massage, as well as cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary training. Several clinical studies have been conducted showing improved outcomes, better tolerance, and reduced functional impairments. This concept focuses on improving patients above their baseline so that after medical interventions, the potential for deconditioning or complications is less than it would be without prehabilitation.

5. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in New England but have slowly made my way down the East Coast, moving to Philadelphia and now Virginia (where it’s thankfully much warmer).