Occupation Therapy & Ovarian Cancer Care
How Can Occupational Therapy Help?
The effects of cancer treatment and surgery can impact participation in daily routines. Functional limitations and impairments may occur in the following areas[32]:
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Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
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Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
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Rest and Sleep
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Leisure
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Work
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Education
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Social Participation
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Health Management
The side effects of treatment and surgery can also cause the following:
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Decreased endurance, range of motion, and trunk strength.
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Pain (including post-operative pain, neuropathy, and plexopathy).
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Post-operative edema and lymphedema.
Occupational therapists can play a valuable role in improving occupational engagement and quality of life in ovarian cancer survivors. Occupational engagement involves participating in activities you value and choose to do and quality of life is self-appraisal and contentment with one’s life.[11, 65] Occupational therapists are qualified to recommend and implement a wide range of techniques, modalities, and strategies to help ovarian cancer survivors during and after treatment.[15, 16, 59]
Occupational Therapy Intervention Before Surgery [12, 16, 32]:
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Baseline assessment of strength, endurance, and functional mobility and transfers.
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Provide education on what to expect after surgery.
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Provide education on expectations for activity, restrictions, and therapeutic exercise.
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Teach good body positioning and techniques.
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Educate on energy conservation and task simplification.
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Educate on environmental modifications.
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Educate on self-management, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, cognitive and behavioral interventions, and strategies to address depression and anxiety.
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Educate on counseling resources and support groups available in the community.
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Encourage self-advocacy.
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Educate on lymphedema risk, prevention, and management.
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Pain management techniques.
Occupational Therapy Intervention After Surgery [12, 16, 32]:
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Strategies to improve Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Rest and Sleep, Leisure, Work, Education, Social Participation, and Health Management.
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Instruct and review techniques for safe functional mobility and transfers.
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Educate and recommend adaptive equipment if needed for functional mobility, transfers, and lower body dressing (to protect abdominal incisions).
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Instruct and review restrictions and precautions, for example, no bending, lifting (10 or more pounds), or twisting until cleared by your surgery team).
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Instruct and review body positioning and techniques to reduce pain, and fatigue and to protect incisions.
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Non-pharmacological methods of pain management.
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Instruct and review energy conservation and task simplification.
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Instruct on therapeutic exercise (to be performed when cleared by the surgeon).
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Educate and review lymphedema risk, prevention, and management.
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Educate on scar management (for example massage and desensitization) to be performed when cleared by the surgery team (usually around 3-4 weeks after surgery).
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Teach deep (diaphragmatic) breathing exercises.
Explore our What's Important To You page for occupational therapy interventions.
Occupational Therapy's Approach to Pain Management
Various options to manage chronic pain exist. However, occupational therapy’s contribution to pain management is distinct because it concentrates on occupational performance and occupational engagement.[12,38]
OTs are skilled in analyzing physical, psychological, social, and cognitive components of occupational performance, isolating and mitigating potential barriers, and adapting the environment for occupational engagement.[12,38]Occupational therapy practitioners also focus on restorative therapies that improve function and participation rather than pain reduction.[12,62]Furthermore, multiple pain modalities specifically address the person, occupation, and environment.[38]Interventions that focus on the person emphasize education, training, and skill development and include relaxation training. Strategies focusing on occupation include task adaptation, such as pacing and occupational development. Finally, interventions that focus on the environment include environmental modification and the provision of support. Occupational therapy is also unique because it promotes non-pharmacological interventions for self-regulation and self-management of pain through the therapeutic use of occupations.[12]
Occupational therapy’s approach to intervention for cancer-related pain is determined by the type and severity.[16] For example, health promotion strategies such as body mechanics in anticipation of postoperative pain can be done before surgery. Conversely, functional restoration in the form of range of motion is used for pain management to improve participation. However, modification (such as training and selection of assistive devices) and prevention are most commonly used for cancer-related pain.[12,16]