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. 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.

Supplemental Materials

Articles

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

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

Supporting Research

Primary

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

Additional

Contact Hours (CEUs/PDUs)

1 Contact Hour. Released online from Aurora, NE.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed our courses to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the U.S.), check out OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and don't see requirements for your specific location on that page, please contact us.

OT Potential courses are presented as live webinars, then released on-demand video and audio via the OT Potential Podcast. Attendance in the live webinar will be indicated on your certificate. Learn more about how our courses help meet live webinar requirements, and OT CEU requirements overall.

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

AOTA Approved Provider Badge with Course Details

AOTA Details

AOTA Course ID#: 03212
AOTA CEUs Earned: 0.1
AOTA Delivery Format: Distance Learning-Independent
AOTA Category: OT Service Delivery
AOTA Level: Introductory

NBCOT Details

NBCOT PDUs Earned: 1.25

Instructional Methods, Registration, Special Needs Requests, Cancellation Policy

This course is an independent/self-study course delivered via podcast on one or more of the following platforms: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, & Google Play.

If you need accommodations to take this course, please contact us and we will address your needs on an individual basis.

If we cancel a promoted course, event, live stream, or any other paid CEU offering prior to release, and you subscribe explicitly for said offering, you are eligible for a full refund if you did not complete and earn any other CEU quizzes or certificates during your subscription.

If a live webinar is cancelled that you signed up for, our system will automatically generate an email to you and if possible, we will inform you of the rescheduled date. Our most current webinar schedule will be found here.

Audience / Education Level & Course Completion Requirements

Our target audience is therapy professionals who are looking to learn more about this topic. The educational level is introductory. In order to receive a certificate for this course, you must first participate in the podcast/webinar in its entirety. Then, you will need to take the quiz that will accompany the course and earn 75% or higher. If you pass, a PDF certificate will be made available to you via email and download. Quizzes for live (distance learning–interactive) webinars must be completed within 3 days of completing the webinar.

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.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Vanessa Monique Yanez has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.

Speakers

Vanessa Yanez

PhD, MSOT, OTR/L

Vanessa Monique Yanez, PhD, MSOT, OTR/L, is an occupational therapist specializing in cancer rehabilitation. As a cancer survivor, she brings both professional expertise and personal insight to her work, shaping her approach to patient care and the development of meaningful, evidence-based programs for those navigating life during and after cancer treatment. Dr. Yanez’s career spans a wide range of oncology rehabilitation settings, including acute care, acute rehab, outpatient, home health, and telehealth, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges survivors face. She previously co-owned and directed a private practice with specialized oncology programming and served as contributing faculty at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, where she shared her expertise in psychosocial care. Committed to health equity, she dedicated her practice to serving underserved communities, ensuring broader access to quality cancer rehabilitation services. Throughout her career, she has also mentored hundreds of students through their clinical rotations, shaping the next generation of occupational therapists. In her current clinical role at a comprehensive cancer center in Southern California, she continues to advance occupational therapy in oncology through specialized programming, grant-funded research, and mentorship of students and clinicians. Her research and clinical interests include occupation-based practice, geriatric oncology, adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors, hematological malignancies, hematopoietic cell transplants (HCTs), sexuality/body image, mental health, and health management. Deeply committed to bridging research and practice, Dr. Yanez actively contributes to the field through continuing education classes, university lectures, publications, and presentations at state, national, and international conferences. She is passionate about making cancer rehabilitation more accessible and widely understood, knowing that meaningful recovery goes beyond survival, it’s about reclaiming life.

Sarah Lyon

OTR/L

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L, is the CEO of OT Potential. Sarah earned her BA from St. Olaf College and her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University. Her diverse clinical background spans multiple settings, including critical access, acute trauma, and state inpatient psychiatric hospitals. In 2011, she founded OT Potential to fulfill the industry's need for reliable, high-quality occupational therapy resources and continuing education.

As a recognized content creator, Sarah has collaborated with top healthcare brands like VeryWell Health, WebPT, and MedBridge. She blends her clinical expertise with a talent for creating clear, action-oriented content that empowers practitioners to excel. Passionate about elevating the OT profession, she has been featured on numerous industry podcasts. Sarah ultimately returned to her roots, running OT Potential and raising her family in her hometown of Aurora, Nebraska.