The Cancer Rehab Community Conference-2026

Learning Objectives

Overall Conference Learning Outcomes:


  1. Participants will apply evidence-based safety and therapeutic principles in oncology rehabilitation to improve functional outcomes for clients.

  2. Participants will identify clinical strategies that promote physical and occupational engagement across physical, emotional, and cognitive domains.

  3. Participants will describe best practices and analyze how interdisciplinary collaboration and patient-centered communication contribute to effective oncology rehab programming and equitable service delivery.


Session-Based Learning Outcomes:


Asking the Right Questions: Men’s Health in Cancer Care

  1. List key symptoms and rehabilitation needs specific to pelvic health in individuals assigned male at birth.

  2. Select the most common pelvic health conditions or diagnoses impacting persons assigned male at birth

  3. Recall screening questions for pelvic health and men’s health conditions for individuals assigned male at birth 


The Post-Radiation Window: A Lymphedema Pathway for Head & Neck Cancer Care

  1. Identify early tissue, lymphatic, and functional changes during the 4–8 week post-radiation window in head and neck cancer patients.

  2. Analyze clinical findings to determine the need for intervention versus monitoring, including key lymphedema risk factors in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer patients.

  3. Apply a structured post-radiation rehabilitation pathway to guide patient education, goal setting, and clinical decision-making


Exercise Consideration and Prescription in the Oncology Population with Bony Mets

  1. Stratify risk factors in individuals with bony involvement, and apply knowledge for the development of safe exercise prescription.

  2. Apply and scale FITT-VP principle to exercise prescription, allowing for exercise advancement in the oncology population

  3. Apply the Mirels and SINS criteria


The Missing Perspective: Patients on Cancer Rehabilitation

  1. Describe common barriers, including communication, logistical, and systemic, that oncology patients report experiencing when accessing rehabilitation services.

  2. Analyze patient narratives to identify gaps between standard rehabilitation practice and the outcomes patients themselves identify as meaningful.

  3. Evaluate clinician communication and goal-setting approaches in light of patient-reported experience, in order to identify strategies that better incorporate patient voice into individualized care planning.


Hijacking Immunity: CAR-T Cell Therapy for Autoimmune Disease

  1. Describe the underlying mechanisms of CAR-T cell therapy and how immune reprogramming principles used in oncology are being adapted for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

  2. Identify emerging autoimmune conditions being investigated for CAR-T–based therapies (e.g., neurologic and systemic autoimmune disorders) and recognize common treatment-related toxicities with potential functional and rehabilitation implications.

  3. Apply rehabilitation-specific considerations—including mobility, fatigue, neuromuscular impairment, cognitive changes, and safety monitoring—when evaluating and treating patients who have received or may receive CAR-T therapy for autoimmune disease.


Why Survivorship Is Not Recovery: Reframing Post-Cancer Rehabilitation (Bridging Clinical, Functional, and Systems Gaps After Treatment Ends)

  1. Differentiate between cancer survivorship and true functional recovery, explaining why survivorship does not always equate to restored quality of life.

  2. Identify at least three measurable clinical or functional gaps that impact post-treatment cancer survivors, with specific attention to disparities affecting underrepresented communities.

  3. Apply a systems-informed, interdisciplinary framework to improve rehabilitation planning, care coordination, and patient education for survivors, in alignment with health equity and policy best practices.


Beyond Hot Flashes: Menopause Syndromes That Change Function After Cancer

  1. Define musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause and genitourinary syndrome of menopause

  2. Explain rehabilitation screening strategies for menopause-related symptoms in people living with and beyond cancer (PLWBC) 

  3. Describe evidence-based rehabilitation interventions for menopause-related symptoms in PLWBC


Why breast cancer makes your knees hurt: a look into the causes and treatments for aromatase inhibitor induced musculoskeletal syndrome (AIMSS)

  1. Recall and explain to patients why aromatase inhibitors have the side effect of knee and other joint pains. 

  2. Differentiate between exercises such as walking, cycling, resistance training, and yoga for the treatment of aromatase inhibitor induced musculoskeletal syndrome. 

  3. Apply their knowledge of AIMSS to create a treatment plan for patients on aromatase inhibitors to help decrease their side effects. 


The Vestibular–Autonomic Axis in Oncology Rehabilitation

  1. Explain the mechanisms and clinical patterns of chemotherapy-induced vestibular and autonomic dysfunction.

  2. Identify high-risk oncology populations and perform efficient vestibular and autonomic screening.

  3. Integrate evidence-informed vestibular and autonomic rehabilitation strategies into oncology care


The Unique Role of Occupational Therapy in Prospective Care in Breast Cancer

  1. Identify at least three functional risks across the breast cancer care continuum that can be addressed through prospective occupational therapy intervention. 

  2. Differentiate common breast cancer–related upper-quarter impairments (e.g., axillary web syndrome, lymphedema, neuropathy, shoulder dysfunction) using key clinical features relevant to OT evaluation. 

  3. Apply a prospective OT care framework to design an early-intervention plan that supports functional preservation and participation during and after treatment.

The Power of a Multidisciplinary Approach in Survivorship Care: A Case Analysis of a Patient with Head/Neck Cancer

  1. Understand a multidisciplinary model of care combining eastern and western  medicine practices. 

  2. Understand the role of the SLP in multidisciplinary management of the head and neck  cancer population. 

  3. Understand why oncology mindful esthetics are an important adjunct treatment for  cancer patients