Group items tagged

I know someone has posted about palliative care, but I wasn't sure of the difference between palliative and hospice. So, I began to research it and it made sense to me as to why it is better to get palliative care. It also said that it helps to increase the survival rate by 3 months. Also, here is another link to shows you the difference of each. http://www.stcam.com/hospice/palliative-vs-hospice/

This on-line edition of Occupational Therapy in Oncology and Palliative Care edited by Jill Cooper does an excellent job explaining in layman terms the different aspects of cancer to include tumor classification, etiologies, symptoms, diagnosis and treatments. It then discusses the different reasons some OTs decide to work in this specialty and how the OT can better deal with the stresses they encounter in treating those with cancer. I would definitely read this in its entirety if I chose to work with cancer patients.

This article is from the AOTA. It describes the role of OT in helping those with breast cancer. The "survivorship" phase is when a person is trying to re-enter their life's role as care taker, bread winner, house keeper, etc. This lists information some types of interventions one might receive in different types of settings.

This link shows the many side effects cancer can have. OT can help! I honestly did not think about OT and cancer until this unit of study.

This occupational therapist has worked with breast cancer survivors for over 20 years. She talks about how OT helps make tasks "easier, safer, and possible". She helps them deal with the pain, weakness and fatigue associated with cancer. I love how she describes occupational therapy!

My friend's little girl was in Erlanger last week and got to visit with a therapy dog. She loved it! (She wasn't there because of cancer and is doing good now) This page talks about the pet program at Erlanger and gives information on how to join.

This video runs through some exercise that would be good for a person who had surgery for breast cancer. We have been discussing cancer in class and I felt that this would be beneficial for us to know because breast cancer is not that rare!

Article from AJOT OT and breast cancer survivors

Lots of info about nanotechnology in cancer treatment and other links to help teach people about it.

End- Of- Life- Care

Soft tissue sarcomas and treatments.

This article was an eye opener for me regarding the hazards of sitting too long and not using proper sitting techniques. I now know now why I have mushy abs and limp glutes! I sit for hours at my computer without taking a break, resting or stretching. I also do not sit in an ergonomic position while at my desk. From this article I gained a great deal of information about how sitting too long can contribute to heart disease, over-productive pancreas, colon cancer, poor circulation in legs, foggy brain, bad back, strained neck, disk damage, mushy abs and limp glutes, just to name a few. It was really surprising to learn how just from sitting too long can create havoc on your organs, muscles and your whole body. Gives you something to think about!

I should put my laptop on the bar and use it standing up once in awhile!

This is a story of a little girl that touched my heart as I read and looked at the pictures. The story has part 1 and part 2 with pictures of her as she underwent treatment for bone cancer. Kaela ends up with an amputation and a prosthetic leg. Brave little girl with a happy ending after all.

With most of the younger workers, they seem to believe themselves so entitled as part of the "Me" generation. It was very refreshing to see this 18-year-old have such tremendous and admirable goals. In relation to our subject matter, it will be interesting to follow her cancer research and hopefully see a cure during my lifetime.

This video helps to understand what happens in the marrow and cells of someone going through a stem cell transplant. My dad went through this over the summer and he was healthy enough and his cancer cells were low enough that they could use his own stem cells for the transplant. It is amazing that the immune system can drop to undetectable during this process and a person not develop infection, but that was the case for my dad. He was only hospitalized and given 1 bag of plasma and 1 blood transfusion during his recovery and never had any infection. New treatments for cancer are being found all the time, but this disease seems to affect the majority of families.

This article was in the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists Occupational Therapy Now magazine. It discusses how occupational therapy is increasingly used in the role of pain management for cancer patients.

I found this article on the AOTA website. I didn't realize that occupational therapy is one of the only professions qualified to work with lymphedema. I thought it was really interesting how the writer pointed out that occupational therapy gives control back to patients who are in a very uncontrollable situation. Sometimes when working with patients, it is not about saving their lives but about helping them live their life with the most quality and happiness while they have life to live.