OT for Adults with Cancer

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

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The research is clear—adults living with cancer have significant unmet therapy needs. But how can we, as occupational therapy professionals, best serve this population? 

It’s a great question, and one we’ll explore in-depth on this one-hour episode of the OT Potential Podcast! First, we’ll dig into the research around disability in activities of daily living among adults with cancer. Next, we’ll be joined by Vanessa Monique Yanez, MSOT, OTR/L. Vanessa will lend her expertise to our discussion of what this information means for your real-world practice. 

Vanessa is a cancer survivor, herself. This personal experience fuels her dedication to improving the quality of life of other survivors. As private practice owner, Vanessa has valuable advice and insights to offer about the referral process, assessment and treatment of patients with cancer. We’re honored to have her with us and excited to hear her thoughts. 

Primary Research Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article. Then, share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

Disability in activities of daily living among adults with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Assessments

• 36-Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)
• Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM)
• Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog)
• Functional Independence Measure (FIM)
• Karnofsky Performance Scale
• Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Katz ADL)
• Lawton Instrumental ADL Scale (IADL)
• Modified Interest Checklist
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
• MOHOST
• Role Checklist
• FACIT (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy)

Supplemental Materials

Articles:

• Toward a Broader Role for Occupational Therapy in Supportive Oncology Care
• Women’s Experiences After Ovarian Cancer Surgery: Distress, Uncertainty, and the Need for Occupational Therapy
• Occupational Therapy Use by Older Adults With Cancer
• Functional Deficits and Quality of Life Among Cancer Survivors: Implications for Occupational Therapy in Cancer Survivorship Care
• Occupational Therapy Interventions for Adults With Cancer
• Taking Our Seat at the Table: Community Cancer Survivorship

Books:

• Braveman, B., &; Newman, R. (2020). Cancer and occupational therapy: Enabling performance and participation across the lifespan. American Occupational Therapy Association.
• Braveman, B., &; Hunter, E. (2017). Occupational therapy practice guidelines for cancer rehabilitation with adults. AOTA Press.

Guidelines:

• NCCN Clinical Guidelines

Online Communities:

• ONC4OT Facebook Group

Secondary Research 

• Systematic Review of Occupational Therapy and Adult Cancer Rehabilitation: Part 1. Impact of Physical Activity and Symptom Management Interventions
• Systematic Review of Occupational Therapy and Adult Cancer Rehabilitation: Part 2. Impact of Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation and Psychosocial, Sexuality, and Return-to-Work Interventions

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to identify the most commonly affected ADLs and iADLs in adults living with cancer. 
• You will be able to recognize common assessments to guide your treatments with cancer patients. 

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (10 minutes)

• Big picture cancer rehab overview
• What do we know about cancer rehab and ADLs?
• Why was this paper written?
• What were the authors’ methods?
• Results
• Authors’ discussion and conclusions
• Takeaways for OT practitioners

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with guest Vanessa Yanez) (45 minutes)

• What were your initial impressions of the research?
• Can you speak to the unmet therapy needs of cancer patients?
• Do you think OTs should receive special training in cancer rehab before they start seeing these patients?
• How can OTs begin to connect our services with more cancer patients?
• When do you think is the best stage in a patient’s cancer journey to seek a referral?
• What does the assessment portion of your treatment sessions typically entail?
• What are the most common symptoms you see & common treatment interventions you utilize?
• How do you coordinate services with other members of the cancer care team?
• What are your go-to resources for oncology in OT? 

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about cancer rehab and occupational therapy. The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. Our guest, Vanessa Monique Yanez, has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.

Speakers

Vanessa Monique Yanez, MSOT, OTR/L:

Vanessa Monique Yanez, MSOT, OTR/L is an occupational therapist with a specialization in oncology. She completed a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from California State University Dominguez Hills, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from Texas Woman’s University. She holds a faculty position for the occupational therapy programs at the University of St. Augustine, and runs a private practice in San Antonio, TX.

As a cancer survivor, Ms. Yanez understands the challenges of a cancer diagnosis, which fuel her dedication to improving the quality of life of other survivors. Her clinical practice and research are focused on hematological cancers, stem cell transplants, as well as mental health, sexuality, and theory-driven practice within oncology. Read full bio.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L:

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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