The physical, emotional, and cognitive impact on an individual's well-being following breast cancer treatment can greatly reduce their ability to independently engage in meaningful and necessary activities and occupations.
After cancer therapy, some individuals encounter stiff, achy joints, fatigue, decreased motivation, and fear of returning to daily life activities such as cooking, home maintenance, and sports.
Having an occupational therapist with a specialization in the lymphatic system to guide patients step-by-step to achieve goals of returning to daily activities, work, and sports can be beneficial in a variety of ways.
Timely intervention and use of compression garments, various strengthening techniques, and stress management techniques can optimize outcomes and get individuals back on track.
Occupational therapy (OT) can help individuals recovering from breast cancer identify their functional deficits and learn individuals methods to meet their goals. OTs working with patients postoperatively obtain physician/surgeon approval prior to initiating and progressing exercises.
Interventions include (but are not limited to):
Provide baseline assessments & preoperative counseling on how to prevent/reduce functional deficits prior to treatment, improving longterm outcomes for survivors
Ongoing monitoring of performance deficits and improvements to modify ongoing multidisciplinary intervention
Training therapeutic ROM exercises and muscular reeducation techniques, including neck, trunk, and arms, which progresses to meaningful activities like grooming & bathing
Addressing lymphedema education on modifying/ eliminating habits & activities such as wearing tight clothes, sunbathing, and heavy yard work, as well as adding restorative treatment techniques like manual lymph drainage
Instruction on self-care management like skin care, infection prevention, adapted clothing, compression garments, and more
Use of an individualized lifestyle approach fosters participation in important roles such as parenting, home management, and employment by using techniques to promote energy conservation and fatigue management, coping skills, and engagement in leisure activities
Evaluating physical, emotional, and cognitive abilities to make appropriate recommendations for safe integration into community outreach and support programs
Identifying cognitive deficits affecting occupational roles and providing compensatory techniques
Teaching coping strategies to resume safe and comfortable sexual activity and providing interventions to improve healthy body image
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