Grant recipient: Dr Amy Dennett MACP, APA Cancer Physiotherapist 

Project title: Taking Oncology Rehabilitation Online (TORO)

Year awarded: 2020    

Grant: Pat Cosh Trust grant

Grant amount: $14,592.00

Snapshot: A cancer exercise toolkit developed by La Trobe University researcher Amy Dennett provides education and resources to both clinicians and patients on exercise for cancer patients and survivors.

The findings: As a physiotherapist working in the cancer rehabilitation space, Amy found that other clinicians were asking her for resources on treating cancer survivors. The researchers used a co-design process involving a group of physiotherapists and other exercise professionals to identify the key elements that an exercise-based oncology rehabilitation program website would need in order to cover the learning needs of the end users.

Benefits to the profession: The Cancer Exercise Toolkit is a website designed for exercise professionals, including educational resources and a location map for exercise rehabilitation programs.

The main focus is providing clinicians with the information and the confidence they need to work with cancer patients and survivors, although there are also resources for patients and survivors themselves.

The next steps:  Read about the findings of Amy’s study:

• new website provides blueprint for cancer exercise prescription 
• new resource a move in the right direction
• multidisciplinary exercise-based oncology rehabilitation programs
• five facts about physiotherapy and exercise rehabilitation in cancer care
• expanding quality of care.