Cancer Rehab - Bridging the Gap Between Medical Prognosis and Physical Realities (Apr 14 - 15, 2018)

Cancer Rehab - Bridging the Gap Between Medical Prognosis and Physical Realities is organized by Texas Children's Hospital and will be held during Apr 14 - 15, 2018 at Texas Children's Hospital - Feigin Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America. The target audience for this medical event is Oncologists.

CME Credits:
This course is 16 contact hours/16 ccu’s/1.6 ceu’s This course is 19 contact hours/1.9 ceu’s for therapists licensed in Illinois, New York, or the District of Columbia.

Course Description:
This intermediate continuing education course is designed for PT’s and OT’s who wish to further their current skill sets to include specialized treatments for the cancer patient. Emphasis in this course will be placed on learning the medical and surgical management for the following cancers: breast, prostate, gynecological, head and neck, colorectal and melanomas. Most importantly, the therapist will learn how and when he/she can most effectively intervene during the continuum of cancer care to treat side effects encountered from post-surgical and post–radiation treatments. This course will expand on the therapists’ knowledge of the tissue healing and disease processes and of the lymphatic system. This will provide the needed understanding of how these processes/systems are affected from a surgical, chemotherapy, and/or radiation treatment approach. Extensive lab time will be devoted to perfecting and applying manual therapy skills to the cancer patient which include muscle energy technique, soft tissue and joint mobilization, strain-counterstrain and other pain and edema reducing manual techniques.

The therapist will also be able to develop and implement effective treatment protocols for post-surgical patients (with or without lymph node dissection), post-radiation patients, and reconstructive surgical patients upon completion of this course. This course will allow for the therapist to become a knowledgeable and active participant of the Oncology Team at his/her work facility.

Course Objectives:
• Describe the underlying mechanisms of carcinogenesis, the current medical and surgical management for the treatment of cancers and their associated side effects.
• Describe the relationship between cancer treatments and tissue healing and how comorbidities impact patients with cancer.
• Identify histologic presentation, staging and grading of cancer in order to understand the therapeutic intent of oncologic management.
• Identify cancer diagnoses that would benefit from a PT or OT’s intervention and where in the continuum of cancer care therapists can most effectively intervene.
• Perform specialized manual therapy skills with existing orthopedic skill sets to decrease pain and edema, and increase motion in post-surgical and post-radiation cancer patients.
• Design functional goals and appropriate plans of care for the following cancer diagnoses: breast, head and neck, gynecological, urological, prostate, and leukemias and lymphomas.
• Design a “whole body approach” when developing and implementing strategies for treating a cancer patient by understanding the effects of cancer on the lymphatic, musculo-skeletal, nervous, and vascular systems of the body.
• Discuss the specialized services you can offer for the cancer patient and the vital role you contribute to the Oncology Multi-Disciplinary Team.