Comprehensive Physical Therapy of the Breast Cancer Patient
Comprehensive Physical Therapy of the Breast Cancer Patient
This course includes
The instructors
Overview
Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world. As a physiotherapist, it is likely that someone with breast cancer who is experiencing related concerns will come to visit you. When this happens, it is important that you are prepared – you should be confident in what your role as a physiotherapist is before, during, and after the patient’s treatment period.
Research has shown that patients with breast cancer experience a steep decline in their vO2 max throughout treatment. This indicates that women undergoing treatment are at a greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease than from breast cancer. As a physiotherapist, it is important to recognize these findings – it is vital to investigate why this might be the case and find ways to work around them to decrease the negative indirect effects of treatment. In doing so, you ensure that the patient is in the most optimal position throughout the duration of their treatment, further limiting other associated long-term effects.
This online course will provide you with insights from individuals with experience in assessing and treating those with breast cancer.
In this course, you will explore the following items:
- The multifaceted physical therapy approach to the care of individuals with breast cancer.
- The benefits of physical activity and its prescription during active chemotherapy treatments.
- The physiotherapy management of upper extremity dysfunction and lymphedema after breast cancer surgery (with and without breast reconstruction) in order to ensure you feel more confident in addressing these issues in their clinical setting.
- Screening for pelvic health dysfunctions and pelvic floor interventions for the pelvic floor physiotherapist as well as for the general practitioner.
Learning Objectives
In this online course, you will explore a multifaceted physiotherapy approach to treating individuals with breast cancer. The following topics will be covered:
- Upper quadrant issues/shoulder dysfunction
- Breast cancer-related lymphedema
- Pelvic floor issues
- Considerations for physical activity and exercise during chemotherapy
Audience
This online course is available to physiotherapists that want to learn more about how to best care for people with breast cancer. It is brought to you by the Pelvic and Reproductive Health Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA).
This course was recorded at the Canadian Physiotherapy Association Congress in May 2022.
The instructors
Pelvic and Reproductive Health Division (formerly Women's Health Division) is a not-for-profit division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) that is managed, operated, and advanced by volunteers with a passion for women’s health. We are a dynamic organization, national in scope, that effectively facilitates communication, education and service delivery for physiotherapy practitioners on topics specific to women’s health.
Our mission is to provide leadership and direction to members of the CPA for the advancement of physiotherapy practice in women’s health by fostering excellence in practice, education, and research for the benefit of Canadians.
We aim to:
- Acquire and make available information and educational materials
- Encourage and develop the publication of research in the field
- Facilitate communication between and among members
- Promote ongoing professional development
- Enhance physiotherapy service delivery specific to women’s health and/or pelvic health.
Material included in this course
-
Comprehensive Physical Therapy of the Breast Cancer Patient
-
Welcome!
-
Upper Quadrant Issues/Shoulder Dysfunction
-
Breast Cancer Related Lymphedema
-
Pelvic Health Dysfunctions in Individuals Treated for Breast Cancer
-
Considerations for Physical Activity and Exercise During Chemotherapy
-
Questions
-
Feedback
I'm a member of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). What are the discounts available to CPA Members on Embodia?
As part of our partnership with the CPA, we offer its members discounts on courses and Embodia Memberships. Learn more about the partnership on this page.
In order for the discount to be applied, you first need to authenticate your CPA membership. This is an important step as this is how Embodia 'knows' that you are a CPA member.
To authenticate as a CPA member, you need to sign in the CPA portal on this page, sign in to your CPA account, and then click the button on the page.
Please note that your email address on your CPA account must match your email address on Embodia. If needed, you can update your information on Embodia as outlined in this guide.
Is a certificate of completion included with this course?
Once you have completed the course, a certificate of completion (including learning hours and course information) will be generated. You can download this certificate at any time. To learn more about course certificates on Embodia please visit this guide.