TheOncoPT Podcast

Send us Fan Mail The past two years (yes, that's how long this podcast has been around!) have been quite the learning experience. It's stressful & frustrating trying to navigate the OncoPT world as a new practitioner, but you're not alone. I'm sharing the top 10 lessons I've learned in my early OncoPT career, including some mistakes I learned from & what I'm p...

Send us Fan Mail We're back with a special Black Friday part 2 episode - this time with savings for you, OncoPT! Now is the perfect time to stock up on practice supplies & pick up great savings on oncology physical therapy education. Be quick though - you don't want to miss out on these savings! If you want a structured way to get started on your ABPTS oncology case report, I'm...

Send us Fan Mail Thanksgiving is just one week away here in the States, which means that Black Friday sales are just around the corner. Now is a great time for patients to purchase needed garments & equipment, as well as stock up for the new year. I've included some of my favorite products that I recommend to patients in this episode. Check them out & save your patients some moolah -...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered what the heck goes on in pediatric oncoPT? For me, I have exactly zero experience in this patient population, so I reached out to Lynn Tanner, PT, to give us the low-down on pediatric oncology physical therapy. What she shares is powerful not just for our pediatric colleagues, but for ALL of us in OncoPT. If you want a structured way to get started on your ABPTS onco...

Send us Fan Mail We made it to 100 episodes! TheOncoPT celebrated our 100th episode with a special live Instagram interview with Shai Sewell - & we had a blast! Shai turned the tables, as HE asked the questions in this episode. I've included both the Instagram Live & the audio from our interview on this page - so you can enjoy the audio or video version of this great episode. Thank yo...

Send us Fan Mail Pelvic floor dysfunction affects a significant number of cancer survivors. Many of these patients will not be referred to pelvic floor PT. Instead, they will end up in oncology PT for other reasons & will "happen" to also have pelvic floor issues. So can we actually help these patients as non-pelvic PTs? The answer & how to actually implement this solution is in...

Send us Fan Mail Like it or not, COVID has significantly impacted oncology PT. Our ability to reach patients & treat them in a timely manner has changed dramatically. These changes have been largely negative. So what exactly has COVID revealed about how cancer rehab works? As a profession, our methods of getting patients in the door (or getting referred to patients) is problematic. OncoPTs do...

Send us Fan Mail Oncology physical therapy is simply the coolest - we get to help patients after arguably the worst diagnosis imaginable. We see patients throughout the cancer care continuum, even until the end of their lives. It's a beautiful, sad, frustrating, wonderful opportunity to share this sacred space with these patients. But, we often have to jump right back into the whirlwind witho...

Send us Fan Mail Alexandra Hill, PT, DPT, WCS, CLT-LANA, is part of an elite group of clinicians in the US: she is dual-board certified in both oncology & women's health PT! She's using her incredible knowledge, experience, & passion for treating these patient populations that often go hand-in-hand, & she stopped by the podcast to share how she found her path, how she prepare...

Send us Fan Mail It's time to start cracking down on studying for the Oncology Specialist Certification Exam (at least here at our house). This is my first time studying for the exam, so I'm really excited to be brushing up on all this great stuff & refreshing things I may have forgotten. While the exam can seem really daunting at first, there are some great tools out there to help y...

Send us Fan Mail As OncoPTs, we should constantly be learning, learning about cancers, new treatments, better ways to care for our patients, & how to continually advance our profession. For some, part of that journey is pursuing higher education, such as a PhD. For Steve Wechsler, he says pursuing his PhD is the best career decision he's made so far. So what exactly goes into earning your...

Send us Fan Mail Starting this past Sunday through tonight, I’m hosting a free workshop series called “Kickstart Your Oncology Evals,” which will help you know what questions to ask, what tests & measures to perform, & what all that info means in an oncology evaluation.  Evals are often the first interactions with our patients, which means we need to make a good impression & build that...

Send us Fan Mail It's my birthday, so to celebrate, I'm releasing a special Ask Me Anything episode! Y'all had some awesome questions that really made me think, so thank you first of all for sending those in. In this episode, I cover some fun bits about me y'all asked for, as well as some specific oncology rehab stuff - fantastic! Don't forget: I'm kicking off my webi...

Send us Fan Mail The Oncology Specialist Certification Exam deadline is less than 1 month away! October 1 is the deadline to sign up to sit for the Oncology Specialist Certification Exam, which is how practitioners become "Board Certified" Clinicians - woohoo! The exam is a fabulous way to advance your clinical practice & knowledge in order to help patients to the best of your abilit...

Send us Fan Mail How many of your patients are wearing the wrong bra? How many of us are actually checking? Because we should be. The wrong bra can literally make our work as OncoPTs harder. The wrong bra can actually work against our skilled help. FOR REAL. Enter Prairie Wear's Hugger line of compression bras. These amazing products are changing the world of post-breast cancer surgery recove...

Send us Fan Mail OncoPTs frequently encounter breast cancer surgery, which seems straightforward enough, until we start to dive into specifics: surgery type, lymph nodes, complications, healing, etc. So what do we need to know? Toni Storm, MD is here to discuss! If you want a structured way to get started on your ABPTS oncology case report, I'm hosting a LIVE writing sprint later this month w...

Send us Fan Mail We see so many patients every day, every week - we're hopefully helping thousands of patients throughout our careers as OncoPTs. But what can sometimes get lost is that patients often only see one of us : one oncologist, one (or two surgeons, depending), one physical therapist. We know our stuff because we see it all the time! Not the case for patients, & they can often f...

Send us Fan Mail Rehab in general has seen remarkable shifts in the last few months, with oncology rehabilitation being pushed to the side & even shut down, as resources are redistributed to other patient population needs. But this leaves our oncology patient population in dire need - so how do we come back & recenter our patients at the core of what we do? Nicole Stout, DPT, CLT-LANA, FAP...

Send us Fan Mail As OncoPTs, we want what's best for our patients. We'll do whatever it takes to care for our patients, giving 100% to serve. But we can't do that if we're empty, worn out, burned, out, tired, stressed, & frustrated. Well, those have pretty much been my theme song during these past 4 months. So what do we do to take care of ourselves in order to take better...

Send us Fan Mail It's the (second) most wonderful time of the year, with APTA-Combined Sections Meeting 2020! We're in Denver, Colorado this year & there are some stellar presentations, posters, platform presentations, & exhibit hall booths that I'm looking forward to seeing!  Listen now! If you want a structured way to get started on your ABPTS oncology case report, I'...

Send us Fan Mail  February is National Cancer Prevention Month, & while we as PTs may not think of ourselves in a cancer prevention role, we have great opportunities to educate our patients & empower them to take control of their health. This episode is for every PT professional & student , whether your interest is in outpatient, inpatient, home health, neurological, orthopedic, acute...

Send us Fan Mail We are officially live!   Welcome to the intro episode of TheOncoPT Podcast! I'm your host, Elise Decker - proud oncology & lymphedema physical therapist from Fort Worth, Texas!  In TheOncoPT Podcast, I'll interview oncology experts, practitioners, & even patients to help you on your way to becoming a confident, competent OncoPT.   If you want a structured way to...