TheOncoPT Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Palliative care is not the same as hospice.  Period. While common, this misconception is problematic & is keeping your patients from getting truly comprehensive care throughout their cancer care journey. In today’s conversation with Dr. Lori Boright, we dive into what palliative care really means within oncology, how prehab & palliative care are more closely related than y...

Send us Fan Mail September 30 is the final deadline for your ABPTS Oncology application.  On today’s episode of the podcast, I’m answering your burning questions about the application process, your case report, & what to do when you get writer’s block. Plus, stay tuned for exciting news about an upcoming webinar that will take your case report writing prowess to new heights. Don't miss ou...

Send us Fan Mail Imagine feeling less stressed & less frustrated with your practice, because you know how to tackle any diagnosis, any impairment, any complicated patient case that comes your way.   This isn’t a dream.  This can totally be reality.  Feeling confidently certain that you can address your patient’s impairments, no matter what diagnosis, what treatments, what complications they ma...

Send us Fan Mail September is a huge month for cancer awareness, including thyroid cancer. The good news is thyroid cancer is relatively uncommon, with a pretty decent survival rate. The bad news, it’s still cancer, & it may be on the rise. In this episode, we’re reviewing the basics of this lesser-known cancer, treatment options, & how your patients’ functional mobility & quality of l...

Send us Fan Mail Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (PFD) is an often silent yet prevalent issue that casts a shadow over the lives of many cancer survivors.  Despite its high occurrence, PFD remains an undertreated facet of cancer rehabilitation, leaving patients to often silently suffer. Meet the OncoPT working to change this dismal reality: Dr. Alexandra Hill is a renowned expert in the field of oncology...

Send us Fan Mail There’s a time & a place for hard truths in cancer rehab. But “tough love” can sometimes cross the line into cruelty for our patients.   Cancer is taxing in every realm of a patient’s existence; the last thing they need is for their rehab professional to be cruel in the name of blunt honesty or “just telling it like it is.” As a cancer rehab physical therapist, it's essen...

Send us Fan Mail While cancer can affect anyone, the Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) patient population can experience heightened distress & challenges compared to other age groups. However, these issues are frequently overlooked & underserved, leading to potentially lifelong challenges. Worse yet, these patients often discuss being “dropped off a cliff” once they finish treatment.  The...

Send us Fan Mail In cancer rehab, it may feel like we’re too “late” to participate in cancer prevention.  But this is totally false! Cancer rehab pros are actually in the PERFECT position to educate & encourage our patients on cancer prevention.   In today’s episode, we’re diving into what “prevention” in cancer is, how OncoPTs can help our patients in cancer prevention, & specific strateg...

Send us Fan Mail Over the past several decades, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in cancer survivorship, meaning more patients are living longer after their cancer diagnosis.  However, this increase is not seen equally across all patient groups.   For example, Black & African American patients continue to experience the highest rates of cancer mortality compared to other racial groups in the U...

Send us Fan Mail When I left my first ever OncoPT job, the only thing that kept me going was the amazing group of therapists who rallied around me & basically became my support group. As strong as you are, none of us are one-person shows.  It truly takes a village to make it in cancer rehab.   But if you’re not convinced about why YOU need a community in cancer rehab, queue this episode up ASA...

Send us Fan Mail It’s no secret that cancer is EXPENSIVE, which can make accessing care extremely challenging for some patients.  While various solutions are available today, one of my favorite organizations meeting these needs & expanding access to quality care is Moving Beyond Cancer Collective. Mari Galle, an oncology acupuncturist based in Austin, Texas, shared her journey and the inspirin...

Send us Fan Mail As a new OncoPT, it’s tempting to want to rush through the early days so you can hurry up & “become the expert.”  However, these early days are some of the most important days of your entire career! Let me explain: You can’t “hack” experience.  Gaining experience is a slow, purposeful process that requires intentional effort every day. For the ambitious OncoPT like you & m...

Send us Fan Mail If you ask any rehab professional what scares them the most about oncology patients, their answer 99.9% of the time will be bone metastases .   And this fear is keeping rehab professionals from actually helping their patients with cancer (even those without bone mets). The fact is patients with bone metastases benefit from rehab, from exercise, & from physical activity.  High-...

Send us Fan Mail The ABPTS 2024 application window is officially open, which means that you need to get your application submitted ASAP.  Seriously, the deadline will sneak up on you, unless you do 2 things: have a plan & stick to your plan.  Now don’t worry, because I’ve outlined the EXACT plan for you in this episode. To Start (& Actually Finish!) Your ABPTS Application, watch this. Ever...

Send us Fan Mail I love to nerd out about the research going on behind the scenes to invent & improve cancer treatments.   But there’s something I love even more than that: seeing people step into their power, pursuing their highest purpose & potential. Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy was a renowned geneticist in the oncology field for many years, before she decided to walk away from it all…to start...

Send us Fan Mail Trigger warning: the following podcast episode talks about depression, self-harm, & suicide.   If you are not in a headspace to listen to this episode today, that’s okay.  This is probably not the episode you want to hear today, but you certainly NEED TO HEAR IT.   It’s up to you to take care of yourself. If you don’t, no one else will.   Listen to this much-needed message NOW...

Send us Fan Mail DIEP Flap is one of the most popular reconstruction approaches for patients after breast cancer surgery.  However, access to DIEP Flap reconstruction is actively being threatened for our patients. We cannot let this happen.  To combat this, Terri Coutee of DiepCFoundation gave us the basics on what’s happening with DIEP flap, why, & most importantly, what we MUST do about it....

Send us Fan Mail One of the most challenging parts of clinical practice is balancing your responsibilities.  But the overachiever you are, you’re probably trying to do it all. That’s definitely what I did when I first started.  But it wasn’t until I heard this game-changing advice that I finally started prioritizing what really mattered, & quit working literally all hours of the day & nigh...

Send us Fan Mail In 2023, 2 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer.  These survivors will undergo cancer treatments that cause significant side effects & lasting functional impairments. Who better to treat these impairments than physical therapists?!  But… Unfortunately, most physical therapists lack the appropriate knowledge to treat cancer survivors confidently & comp...

Send us Fan Mail While proton therapy is still uncommon in the US, it’s quickly gaining traction as a more precise cancer treatment with a lot fewer side effects for our patients.  But is it worth knowing about if you don’t have a proton therapy center in your area? Short answer: ABSOLUTELY! Dive into the world of proton therapy with me as I interview Dr. Andrew Lee of Texas Center for Proton Ther...

Send us Fan Mail Case reports are one of the most important ways we can advance cancer rehab. Now I know what you’re probably thinking right now: “my ABPTS case report isn’t due for another couple months.  Why are we talking about case reports now?” The reality is, you need to start your case report TODAY.  Writing your case report is a time-consuming & challenging process.  By waiting, you’re...

Send us Fan Mail Starting a private practice is one thing, but keeping a private practice oncology clinic running for 3 years through a pandemic is a different thing entirely. Lisa Sylvestri, a seasoned oncology & lymphedema physical therapist, has been running her own private clinic ( Oasis Physical Therapy & Wellness ) for the past three years. Lisa's dedication to helping cancer pa...

Send us Fan Mail There’s a lot of opportunity to stretch & grow this spring, especially in your clinical practice. But you may be hesitant to try new approaches for one simple reason: you want to avoid making mistakes. But this can actually harm our patients, more than help them. And this is actually holding our profession back. In this episode, I am spilling ALLL my secrets on how to lean int...

Send us Fan Mail It can be easy to get lost in all the different cancer treatments & side effects. "What does what again?" Good thing Corissa Decker, BSN, RN, BMTCN is back to teach us about common side effects, mechanisms, & other things to know about chemotherapy & biological therapy, but don't worry: she makes it easy to follow & understand, so you'll walk aw...

Send us Fan Mail We are back from APTA-CSM 2020, & it was a blast! The courses were phenomenal, the platform presentations were fantastic, & the oncology PT community is so vibrant - it's incredible to see how much the Academy is growing & the young professional/student interest & excitement!  I learned soooo much this year, but after reflecting on the excitement & educati...