North American Seminars, Inc. Introduces the Second Course in Its New Continuing Education Cancer Series, Advanced Oncology Rehabilitation for Successful Outcomes

Nashville, TN, May 05, 2009 --(PR.com)-- This North American Seminars Inc. course, is designed to highlight and broaden the clinician’s knowledge and clinical skill set needed for advanced expertise in the management of patients with cancer. This advanced course, the second in North American Seminars Cancer Education Series, will offer the opportunity for participants to acquire a more in depth knowledge about cancer pathogenesis and how this plays out in the development of different cancers, and in the design of medical treatments of these cancers. Medical updates on the diagnosis, medical management, and treatment of cancer will be presented along with more in depth clinical presentations of the different cancers studied in the course – Breast Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Melanoma, Leukemia, and Lymphoma.

This course is designed to provide significant lab time which is devoted to the development and practice of specialized manual therapy skills needed for the post surgical and post radiation management of patients with cancer. An in depth look at the tissue healing processes, including the lymphatic system, that result from surgery and radiation therapy will assist with the understanding of the use of these skills, and in the selection of appropriate use of modalities. The integration of oncology exercise programs with manual therapy skills will be presented so as to ensure a comprehensive management approach of these patients. Specific exercise guidelines, clinical tests, and screening systems will be discussed for cancer patients in active treatment and post treatment phases. Considerations for exercise guidelines will include myelosuppression, cancer related fatigue, cardiotoxicity, cognitive changes, hormone changes, and bone metastasis. This course will provide an in depth look at developing specialized oncology programs. Consideration will be given to the development of inpatient and outpatient programs including marketing, program goals, referral processes, intake processes, and discharge criteria.

This North American Seminars Course is instructed by Julia Osborne, PT, CMLDT.

Julia Osborne, PT, CMLDT, has had a diversified physical therapy career for 14 years, practicing in hospital and outpatient settings in South Africa, England, and the USA. She has established and currently directs one of Denver’s only outpatient Oncology Rehabilitation Clinics. This clinic specializes in outpatient post surgical, post radiation, and post reconstructive surgery care necessary to accelerate the recovery process of cancer survivors, and reduce recurring or secondary complications.

Julia graduated with a BSc. (Honors) in Physiotherapy from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. In her years of practice prior to specializing in oncology rehabilitation, she gained extensive clinical experience in the treatment of Adult, Geriatric, and Pediatric patients in outpatient and inpatient settings. Her specialty areas, in addition to Oncology Rehabilitation, include Combined Decongestive Therapy, Chronic Pain Management, Advanced Manual Therapy Techniques, Woman’s Health, and Neurological Rehabilitation. She is certified in the management of Lymphedema.

Over the past six years Julia has focused her career on the development of Oncology Rehabilitation in Physical Therapy. She has developed treatment protocols for post surgical and radiation care and symptom control, patient guidelines for prevention of onset of lymphedema and secondary complications, and she developed a lymphedema education & resource center for outpatients. Julia has also authored several course manuals for oncology rehabilitation. These include Clinical Model of Lymphedema Management for PT’s, Oncology Rehabilitation Manual for PT’s, Post Surgical and Post Radiation Management of Patients with Breast Cancer, and Cancer Survivorship – How can Physical Therapy make a difference?

Ms. Osborne has been a speaker at the APTA 2005 Spring Conference in Denver, CO; and at the Day of Caring 2005 and 2006 Conferences in Denver, CO. She has also presented three and five day seminars in Oncology Rehabilitation. Professional groups to which Julia has presented include the American Mammography Annual Conferences, Radiation Oncology at Swedish Medical Center, Sally Jobe Breast Center Physician Conferences, and the Y-Me TeleConferences. Julia is frequently invited to speak at patient support groups and at community events in Denver.

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