The areas in which rehabilitation can be applied during the various phases of disease have been summarized in a table (Table 2). Below, I have summarized the kinds of rehabilitation that are performed during each phase as well as some points to bear in mind.First, promoting early postoperative ambulation and improving physical functions so that patients can return as closely as possible to their lives before surgery is a goal common to rehabilitation for all diseases. During this phase, many patients have just started treatment, and rehabilitation should be conducted with sufficient consideration of the fact that many patients have a tendency to become psychologically depressed during this phase as a result of their ‘cancer’ diagnosis or changes in their body image as a result of surgery. When performing rehabilitation, it is important to first determine how a patient’s disease has been explained to him or her and how the patient perceives his or her disease. In addition, determining what issues patients and their families are concerned about at present and with regard to their future makes it possible to provide them with information to allay their concerns. Now that the length of hospital stays in Japan has been shortened, the time available to conduct inpatient rehabilitation has also been limited. Thus, some problems may arise, while the patients are going about their daily lives after their discharge from hospital that were not recognized, while the patients were hospitalized. Patients often spend the next several years being concerned about recurrence, and another role of rehabilitation is to provide patients with a place to go for consultation when they have concerns after being discharged.