Cancer Rehabilitation

Michael Dean Stubblefield, MD, is a graduate of Brown University with dual degrees in biology and honors in philosophy. He received his medical degree from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a combined residency in internal medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He is triple board certified in PM&R, internal medicine, and electrodiagnostic medicine (EMG).

Dr. Stubblefield started his career in cancer rehabilitation at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2001, ultimately rising to the position of Chief of Cancer Rehabilitation. He built the program from a handful of inpatient therapists to a robust team of more than one hundred therapists and five physicians.

Dr. Stubblefield joined Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation as Medical Director for Cancer Rehabilitation in 2015. He serves as the National Medical Director for Cancer Rehabilitation and Complex Medical for Select Medical as well as the National Medical Director for the ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation Program. ReVital has grown under his leadership to include more than 1000 highly trained cancer rehabilitation therapists practicing in hundreds of centers in 25 states.

Dr. Stubblefield is globally recognized as a leader in the field of cancer rehabilitation. His clinical expertise is in the identification, evaluation, and rehabilitation of neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, pain, and functional disorders resulting from cancer and its treatment, particularly those caused by radiation and neurotoxic chemotherapy. He is an expert electromyographer and performs procedures such as botulinum toxin (Botox) injections for the relief of pain and spasm in cancer survivors.

Dr. Stubblefield has been on the Castle Connolly list of America’s top doctors, America’s top doctors for cancer, and New York metro area’s top doctors for many years. He is an accomplished researcher who has published extensively, authored numerous review articles and book chapters, and frequently lectures on a wide range of cancer rehabilitation-related topics. In addition to his role as editor of Cancer Rehabilitation: Principles and Practice, the only comprehensive textbook in the field, Dr. Stubblefield is a peer reviewer for more than 30 journals.