Cancer patients need not only specialized treatment, but also rehabilitation to help them maintain strength, reduce fatigue, and better tolerate therapy.
However, rehabilitation for cancer patients in Ukraine is still underdeveloped. Often, they do not have the necessary access to appropriate services, and many rehabilitation specialists are just beginning to work with such conditions. Understanding the complexity of the challenges and taking into account the requests of specialists, in September, together with our partners, we conducted the first specialized training dedicated to the rehabilitation of people with cancer. Over two days, participants studied advanced, scientifically based approaches to cancer rehabilitation.
The training covered the following topics:
● communication skills with patients and a personalized approach to care;
● the role of physical activity during and after treatment;
● complex clinical cases and exercise prescriptions;
● palliative care;
● common patient problems: fatigue, sleep disorders, polyneuropathy.
Separate blocks were devoted to breast cancer, lymphedema, the risk of fractures in cases of bone metastases, and other types of cancer. Participants worked through clinical cases.
The trainers were foreign experts with practical experience in the field of cancer rehabilitation: Helen Ricketts visited Ukraine, and Anna Leach, Mark Pearson, Joe Jetwa, and Leanne Williams joined online. All of them are specialists at St. George’s Hospital in the United Kingdom.
The demand for cancer rehabilitation turned out to be extremely high — the number of applications exceeded the capacity of in-person training. Therefore, we made sure that the materials were available to a wider audience: the course is posted on the Canvas platform. Now every specialist can use the prepared materials and watch the recorded lectures.
The course is available at: https://canvas.instructure.com/enroll/KGN6AR
Or you can subscribe to https://canvas.instructure.com/register and use the code KGN6AR to join.
Learn and join the professional community in developing this extremely relevant field.
Important reminder: a survey of specialists on the rehabilitation experience of patients with cancer is currently underway. Please take 15 minutes to answer questions about your practice. Your answers will help improve the healthcare system.
The survey is available here: https://patientsofukr.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cAYoJZRWMsSSXuC
