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New cancer treatments are only one aspect of improving oncology care.
Because we also need the next generation of rehab professionals who are trained, willing, & excited to lead the charge in oncology rehabilitation.
In this episode of TheOncoPT Podcast, we’re diving into the real-world impact of student-led research, mentorship, and global collaboration—and why this matters for you as an oncology physical therapist.
We’re spotlighting the award-winning international project: “Evaluation of Interprofessional Knowledge and Confidence in Oncology Rehabilitation Seminars in South Africa.”
You’ll hear directly from the faculty leaders and student researchers driving this work—Drs. Lori Boright, Deb Doherty, and Mary Lou Galantino, along with students Timothy Blaney, Briana Breedy, Sidney Crick, and Rachel Cook. (Dr. Sonti Pulisa, a key collaborator based in South Africa, was not present for the interview.)
In this episode, we cover:
- Why research isn’t just academic—it directly shapes clinical care
- How mentorship accelerates confidence and competence in oncology rehab
- Student reflections that’ll re-inspire your own clinical growth
- What it takes to go from research idea to implementation to national stage
- How this work is influencing the next wave of PT leaders—and what’s next
Whether you’re a seasoned oncoPT or just starting out, this episode will challenge you to think bigger about your role in research, mentorship, and leading our profession forward.
🎧 Listen now to discover how we build better clinicians—and ultimately, better care for our patients.
Want to watch the episode instead?
Watch this week’s episode of TheOncoPT Podcast on our YouTube channel!
About Dr. Lori Boright
Lori Boright PT, DPT, DScPT, CLT is an Assistant Professor at Oakland University in Rochester Michigan where she also serves as Coordinator of the Graduate Certificate in Oncology Rehabilitation. She is a Clinical Cancer Exercise Specialist, credentialed by the University of Northern Colorado Cancer Rehabilitation Institute. She received her DScPT and Graduate Certificate in Oncology Rehabilitation from Oakland University, DPT from AT Still University, MPT from University of Michigan Flint, and BS in physiology from Michigan State University. Her research agenda focuses on primary and secondary disease prevention inclusive of prehabilitation for a variety of cancer diagnoses and upstreaming initiatives for community and population health promotion. She is also investigating US and international standards for entry-level and advanced practice oncology rehabilitation education, and implementing a modular curriculum in the US, South Africa, and parts of Europe to address the increasing need for practitioners to superintend the cancer burden on quality of life.
Dr. Boright practices clinically in acute care at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township Michigan. Dr. Boright currently serves American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Oncology as the Chair of the Hospice and Palliative Care Special Interest Group. She is also the Managing Editor for the APTA Oncology’s new clinically focused publication, Oncology Rehabilitation in Practice. Dr. Boright serves APTA Michigan as Chair of the Oncology Rehabilitation Special Interest Group, the first state-level oncology rehabilitation special interest group dedicated to advocacy and clinical best practice development for persons with oncology diagnoses. She has published many peer-reviewed publications and is a frequent speaker at the state and national level in the prevention and education domains. She co-edited and authored the textbook entitled: Oncology Rehabilitation: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Clinicians (affiliate link) published by Elsevier in October of 2022.
Follow Lori on Instagram.
Connect with Lori on LinkedIn.
About Dr. Mary Lou Galantino PT, MS, PhD, MSCE, FNP, FAPTA
Dr. Mary Lou Galantino is a Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy at Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, where she also coordinates an interdisciplinary Integrative Health Minor. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Galantino received her BS degree in physical therapy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982 and started her career in acute care at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. She later moved west taking on clinical and administrative roles in hospice and acute care settings in Oregon and Texas, receiving extensive rehabilitation training with oncology and HIV populations in the 1980’s at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In the mid-80’s she initiated a private practice and became a member of the NIH-National Task Force on AIDS. Dr. Galantino earned an MS degree in physical therapy at Texas Woman’s University and published her seminal thesis on the benefit of exercise in this population.
In 1991 she returned to the east coast joining the faculty at Stockton University and earned her PhD from the Department of Education at Temple University in 1997. In 2005 through the receipt of an NIH post-doctoral fellowship in Integrative Medicine, she completed a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. One area of focus of her teaching, research and advocacy has been on advancing the care and rehabilitation of those with HIV/AIDS and cancer around the country and the globe with a holistic health approach, noting her certifications as a yoga instructor and ACSM Wellness Coach. Her research highlights the importance of stress management for healthcare professionals. Through her Fulbright Specialist Award, Dr. Galantino is committed to mitigating HIV and cancer disability through collaborative research and is a visiting professor at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
Dr. Galantino has published two texts on HIV, two books on complementary and alternative medicine as well as multiple book chapters. She has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals including Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Contemporary Clinical Trials, Rehabilitation Oncology, Physical Therapy, Physiotherapy Research International, Journal of Physical Therapy Education and EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing. She has given over 250 professional presentations to interdisciplinary audiences at state and national meetings as well as internationally in countries such as Colombia, South Africa, Greece, China and Japan with topics ranging from Physical Therapy Education, Integrative Therapies in Rehabilitation for Chronic Disease, HIV Rehabilitation and Wellness Coaching Interventions for Cancer Survivors and Caregivers.
Dr. Galantino has held several state and national consultative and advisory positions in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and NJ APTA. She was the appointed APTA representative for the American College of Surgeons: Commission on Cancer where she served nationally as a member of the Advocacy and Accreditation Committees. This lead to her passion for public policy change and advocacy at the local and national levels. She enjoys collaboration with the Professional Advisory Committee for Cancer Support Community nationally. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Academies of Practice as a Distinguished Fellow. She has also received numerous university and APTA awards for her teaching and research as well as most notably her Fulbright Award as a Cancer and HIV Rehabilitation Consultant in South Africa since 2014. In 2018, she was awarded Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA. As a cancer survivor and co-survivor, Dr. Galantino understands the importance of timely quality healthcare and is committed to serving her patients at Christiana Rehabilitation Services with compassion and creativity to spark healing at all levels. She brings passion for interprofessional and community engagement through her family, students, fellow colleagues and stakeholders at all levels.
About Dr. Deb Doherty
Deborah Doherty is the Human Movement Science Department Chair and Associate Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at Oakland University. She has been teaching gross anatomy and neuroanatomy to the Doctor of Physical Therapy students at Oakland University for the past 11 years. Dr. Doherty graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Therapy and graduated from Michigan State University in East Lansing Michigan, with a PhD in Anatomy. Dr Doherty is also an advanced practitioner in the treatment of patients diagnosed with cancer. Her research spans the focus areas of Anatomy, Interprofessional education and Oncology Rehabilitation.
Dr. Doherty also co-edited and authored the textbook entitled: Oncology Rehabilitation: A Comprehensive Guidebook for Clinicians (affiliate link) published by Elsevier in October of 2022.
About Tim Blaney, SPT
My name is Tim Blaney and I am a 3rd year DPT student from Stockton University in New Jersey. I have been working on this project since helping modify Oakland University’s Oncology PowerPoints to address the cultural needs of South Africa and all the way up to our presentation at CSM and submission into an international journal. I am thankful for such a great team around me on this research.
Connect with Tim on LinkedIn.
About Rachel Cook, SPT
My name is Rachel Cook and I am a third year DPT Student at Oakland University. I have worked as a PT tech since 2022. I presented a platform presentation at the APTA CSM in February of 2025. I am currently interested in pediatrics and oncology rehabilitation!
Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn.
Transcript
Elise – @TheOncoPT (00:19)
Hey, Onco PT and welcome back to this episode of the Onco PT podcast. Today is a very special day because I think we officially have the biggest panel of guests on the Onco PT podcast that we’ve ever had in our 300 plus episode history so far. So very exciting stuff. I’m so thrilled first and foremost to welcome back Dr. Lori Boright to the Onco PT podcast. And she’s really the brainchild behind this episode as far as
Elise, we’re doing this really, really cool thing when it comes to oncology rehab, when it comes to research and student involvement. Can we talk about it on the podcast? And I was like, yes, please get on here. So Lori, let’s go ahead and bring you on. Can you please reintroduce yourself to the audience today?
Lori Boright (01:04)
Yes, of course. Thanks, Elise, for having us. I’m Lori Boright I am a professor at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where my focus in teaching is varied, but my focus in research is certainly in the oncology rehabilitation domain and space, as we’ve discussed previously. And so along those lines, in terms of the
education. Dr. Doherty, will say, preface all of this, I’m so fortunate to have wonderful mentorship from Dr. Mary Lou Galantino and Dr. Doug Doherty. Dr. Doherty and I developed some educational modules. ⁓
close to about eight years ago now, we’ve been doing the delivering of these modules across the state of Michigan. And ⁓ then we have partnered with other individuals internationally, but the first of which is Dr. Mary Lou Galantino, who will be on shortly and kind of discuss some of her involvement, but has been traveling internationally and wanted to use some of our content in South Africa. And it was about the same time that ⁓ I was able to bring
a student group in. So really this project has been wonderful in ⁓ helping to integrate our students at Oakland University and it was a ⁓ multi-institutional collaborative project that again we will be discussing today but really imparting the importance of contributing to research, improving the landscape of cancer care through upscaling clinical knowledge in the space and doing it in an inter
institutional and international way has really been a wonderful growth opportunity. hope for the students, I hope they can contribute some of that, some of their experiences today. But from the faculty side of things, it has helped me grow as a clinician working with such a dynamic group. And we hope to share some of that today, culminating in some national presentations and some national recognition for this exceptional group of students.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (03:14)
Very cool. So we’re going to actually continue introducing our faculty here. So next up we have Dr. Deb Doherty. Welcome back to the Onco PT podcast, Deb.
Deb Doherty (03:25)
Hello, thank you so much. It is just a great pleasure to be here. I am so thrilled to have been able to work with this group and Dr. Boerite and I have, as she noted, have been working in oncology rehab for many years. It’s a thrill to also have brought forth the textbook that we wrote, Oncology Rehabilitation, a comprehensive guidebook for clinicians. So we’re thrilled to do that.
have that background and that solid information and resource, which is international as well. So I’m thrilled to be here to talk about this particular project. But this is the beginning of an evolution of really providing good information on rehab globally. And we already have several partners that we are working with. We’ve done presentations in Bosnia, and we’re working in Lebanon now. ⁓
Everyone is in such great need and the thrill for me is that what we find out is that we have so much in common with everyone globally. We all have some of the similar needs, but we’re all learning so much from each other as well. We all start in a different place and we can really help to impact that. So I’m thrilled to be here. Thank you.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (04:38)
Mm-hmm.
And then next up, you’ve heard her, she’s lurking here on the podcast. We’re going to bring her officially on the mic, Dr. Mary Lou Galantino.
Mary Lou Galantino (04:54)
Firstly, Elise, thank you for welcoming all of us. Our team is excited, we’re robust, and it really is as both Deb and Lori spoke to, this joining and collaboration in a way that is the passion from which we stand. It is only our students that you see here, Rachel, Sydney, Tim, and Brianna, that will
actually is next-gen. For me, it’s I live to watch this happen. ⁓ And I also love the fact that while I may have our implemented oncology rehab here at Stockton University, it’s really the ability to look at what is basic curriculum standard of care here across the United States.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (05:22)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (05:46)
but then moving that out into the global world and the needs that are so prevalent. And what’s really interesting, and I think what we’ll be talking about today is just how much, know, when Tim and I were preparing in 2023 as part of my Fulbright to go back to South Africa, we were really looking at how it is best delivered in context in South Africa. And then by joining OU’s
Elise – @TheOncoPT (06:12)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (06:16)
brilliant modular format, it was the ability to mix and match and then, and quite frankly, revamp to meet the needs. And surprisingly, really, palliative care was the major need of the people to have. How does rehabilitation fit into palliative care? Because to them, it equaled death. So we really transformed the concept of palliative care.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (06:34)
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (06:44)
through the basic educational aspects regarding side effects of treatment and then ultimately quality of life. But then it really came down to the care of the caregivers and the healthcare professionals and their own ⁓ grappling with death and dying that some of the toughest conversations really came to the fore in the workshops. So it really is this next gen that I live for and what we can take to
Elise – @TheOncoPT (06:52)
Mm.
Mm-hmm.
Mmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (07:12)
amass the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors from an interprofessional standpoint that really, really keeps me totally passionate about what we do. So thank you for having us.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (07:22)
Mm-hmm.
Very, very cool. So what I’ll do now, because again, if you’re not watching this on YouTube, it might be hard to appreciate. We also have four students who are here present with us today. So I’m going to go across the screen and I’m going to start with Brianna. Would you mind introducing yourself for the listeners, Brianna?
Brianna Breedy (07:41)
I’m Brianna and I am a third year PT student at Oakland. ⁓ We started working with Lori maybe three years ago and it’s been such a fun journey just going through this writing this research and going to different conferences and I’ve had a great time doing it.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (07:56)
Nice. Okay, Sydney, you’re next.
Sidney Crick (07:59)
Hello, my name is Sydney. I am also a third year PT student at Oakland. ⁓ I chose Lori because I was interested in oncology rehabilitation. So three years ago ever since, it’s been great to work with everybody and really see all this research come to light. It’s been a really cool process.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (08:17)
Okay, Rachel.
Rachel Cook (08:22)
Hi everyone, I’m Rachel. I’m also a third year PT student at Oakland University and ever since our first year in the program we’ve been working with Lori on this project and just being able to see what our original idea was and then the process that it came to now what it actually turned out to be has been a really cool experience as well.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (08:39)
Mm-hmm. And now Tim.
Tim Blaney (08:42)
Hi, I’m Tim from Stockton in New Jersey. I’m a third year TPT student and I got involved with this with Dr. Gallantino being our graduate assistant back in 2023. So it was definitely cool seeing it from before she even went on the trip to where it is now. It’s been like a really cool experience.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (09:01)
What I’m really excited about is it seems like each of the students here have very much like a long term relationship, like seeing this project through, which is really exciting. For me and PT school, we did research like in our last year or last year and a half. And so it was cool and like cool stuff happened, but didn’t get to see that very like long term kind of results.
And then also it sounds like some implementation, is where I really, really love about the research. So I’m actually going to ask this first question back to the students again, two things. When you got to PT school, did you know you were interested in research? Did you know you’re interested in oncology? And we’ll just take it through that same order we did, starting with Brianna.
Brianna Breedy (09:48)
I can be honest, no I was not interested in research starting off with my first year of PT, but I think I’ve grown to like it over these last couple of years. And I was always interested in oncology. I worked for a breast cancer foundation called the All Branch of Hope in Toronto. So I was always interested in oncology and the way we could use oncology rehab.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (09:52)
Yeah
Sidney Crick (10:11)
I also was not super fond of research, but I think through this process, working with one another and also getting like different universities to work together has really shown me like how amazing it is that what you can do when you work as a team. ⁓ I think it’s really important to realize how vital oncology rehabilitation is. So that’s where I kind of found an interest, especially with family experiences, like this is how we can make an impact in people’s lives.
Rachel Cook (10:43)
I didn’t really know what to expect when it came to research because I’ve not really been a part of it. I mean, I’ve done research projects, but nothing to this sort of extent where we were actually looking to publish and trying to go and present places. So I didn’t know what to expect when I began the program. And then being able to see all the processes of different professors at our university and just being able to hear the experiences from everyone, I think has been really interesting. And just knowing like the implementation process and that
This is like, we’ve been working on it for three years and so it’s more than just one class, one semester working on a project. So I think it’s been really great to see the whole process behind everything. And I think it gives you a better appreciation for all the research that happens. And oncology rehabilitation is something that I’ve been interested in. I didn’t really know about it very much. And then in one of my undergrad classes before PT school, we learned about oncology rehabilitation. And I was like, this is…
I’ve never even heard of this. So I think that was really eye-opening to me and just being able to know that no matter what location you’re working in in the future, the odds are that you will see an oncology rehabilitation patient. So I think that’s just really important to know that even if you don’t go into the specialty area, you’re still most likely to see it as well.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (11:42)
my gosh.
Hmm, preach Rachel.
Tim Blaney (12:06)
And yeah, kind of going off with them, wasn’t super like looking into research when I first started PT school, it kind of like happened when I was working with Dr. Gallantino that I almost stumbled into it with her since she’s always doing stuff everywhere. ⁓ But yeah, the process has been like kind of eye opening how much work, you you get you learn in school, like that there’s a lot of steps that go into the research process.
Going through it myself with everybody else here has been kind of eye-opening to see how many steps and how much work that goes into each research project. So that’s been like a really good experience seeing that. I’m happy that I was able to be a part of it. On oncology rehab, kind of wasn’t super into it. I wasn’t super exposed to it. ⁓ My only exposure was like as a rehab aide inside a hospital. So I saw the importance of it there.
And just speaking with the patients, that kind of was like my introduction on how important it was for them. Because they were really like thankful that they were getting up and moving. And then I know that’s kind of early on in the hospital kind of just to make sure that they’re safe to go home. they spoke about going to outpatient physical therapy and places like that. Now it’s really important to try to help them get back to like some of their daily activities that they enjoy.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (13:24)
Absolutely. So it’s nice to see such a diverse like backgrounds of exposure to oncology rehab, but also interest. And then same thing with that research involvement. You know, we talk about the importance of research as a profession, as a PT profession to inform what we’re doing with patients, why we’re doing with patients, how we implement said interventions with patients. But I think sometimes it’s easy to gloss over like the real importance
behind why we continue to do research in oncology rehab. So I’d love to turn this question back over to the faculty here. Why is it important that we are continuing to do research in oncology rehab specifically? Like we have exercise guidelines, we know that exercise does this for different impairments, but like why keep doing this kind of work?
Deb Doherty (14:20)
Okay, can I start? This is Deb. ⁓ This question, of course, we could talk about all day. But a couple of the main reasons is we have to have evidence for what we do. Within the physical therapy profession, one of the…
Elise – @TheOncoPT (14:27)
Right.
Deb Doherty (14:37)
limitations and our weaknesses as a profession has been not having enough research on every aspect of what we do to prove that what we are doing is so effective and the benefits of it. So it is essential to our profession. It is also essential to the physicians that we are dealing with and the physician extenders. They want that evidence in order to make a decision about referring and we need referrals. mean, lack of referrals
is a major issue globally that there are not enough referrals and it’s not happening regularly enough and it should be standard of care and we could carry on about that. So the evidence is essential for the referrals also then for the general public. You know when we can show them the changes that can occur they’re going to buy in more too because if you’re a patient and I am a cancer survivor and
And I can tell you that when I was going through my cancer, not one clinician talked about oncology rehab. And that’s one of the reasons I got into it. But as patients learn more and the general public learns more, then they want to get involved because they want to feel better. So it is just essential. And it’s changing as we know constantly all the time, all the new interventions, the adverse effects, what we can do to help manage and even prevent. my area of
that I’m really diving into now is real primary prevention. There’s so much we can do as a profession. So this has to be a staple of our profession and as every clinician should be involved in it in some
Mary Lou Galantino (16:21)
This is Mary Lou. I would love to dovetail on Deb’s point and being part of the Academy since the early 80s. Don’t count those years now, folks. When it was a very, very small section at the time, it is exactly the development and the momentum that we have seen in our publications through rehabilitation oncology, the textbook that is now a standard of care by our
Elise – @TheOncoPT (16:31)
Hehehehehe
Mary Lou Galantino (16:49)
⁓ good colleagues here in the room, that really is the elemental component for training. If students don’t receive training with evidence-based practices within entry-level DPT curricula across the United States, their level of comfort is not going to be there. I mean, think about an orthopedic PT who was an OCS.
but now has a patient that’s coming in for low back pain that could be metastasis. Are we screening appropriately? My vision is the ability to see the research and the evidence being used from pediatrics all the way to aging well as survivors in a way that is really cultivating quality of life. And in particular, most of my research is in the area of
Elise – @TheOncoPT (17:35)
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (17:45)
integrative oncology. did a postdoc at the University of Pennsylvania looking at integrative medicine as it relates to non-pharmacologic strategies for ⁓ using mindfulness and also yoga for cancer survivorship. And we have two locations, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Harvard Dana Farber now that we have an NIH
looking at the impact of yoga on peripheral neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. And so the research is essential. And then we need what the public wants, which is the ability to go to the community centers and use those evidence-based practices, whether it’s traditional yoga intervention or exercise, Tai Chi for improvement of fall prevention. And that’s really the key to age well.
using knowledge translation of the research, aging well, well into your 80s and 90s with a cancer diagnosis. So it’s exciting to be part of that journey.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (18:48)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Lori Boright (18:53)
This is Lori, I’ll chime in. Two things, number one, it is very difficult to go behind such powerhouses as Deb Doherty and Mary Lou Galantino, but I want to impart in terms of ⁓ the importance of evidence-informed practice for this specialty area specifically. Historically, we have not had a lot and we’ve had to lean on other specialty areas, geriatrics for one. So that I think is impactful knowing that this is an evolving area of practice, it’s fairly young.
relatively speaking, when we speak to our colleagues in orthopedics, certainly there are decades and dockets of evidence. So from that perspective, it is important to ⁓ continue to build that evidence and for the purpose of…
really sort of defining our profession in a new space, right? So I have colleagues in orthopedics that continually are challenged by reduced reimbursement, right? So now their joint replacement patients are only getting two or three visits or five or six visits or maybe 12 visits. know, again, it’s all payer dependent. ⁓ But we have an opportunity to define our profession in this space and really expand on ⁓
you know, the growth of our profession into this area because it is so needed, number one, this population is underserved. We do have evidence and a very rapidly growing body of evidence to show the efficacy of working with individuals in this space for the purpose of improving quality of life.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (20:21)
Mm-hmm.
Lori Boright (20:26)
for no other reason. And there’s multiple domains even related to that. So quality of life for all persons touched by cancer. We talk about the individual who has the cancer diagnosis, but what about the impact on the carers? So I see that there is just limitless potential in terms of the benefits that we can impart in this arena, but also for the purpose of research. The opportunities really abound.
I am very, very, very grateful on a daily basis for having these opportunities to impart wisdom, expertise, but also for myself to grow as a clinician, to grow as an educator. ⁓ And I am going to say now, I was going to wait till the end, ⁓ but also grateful to inspire young emerging professionals ⁓ in this area.
Before today, I wasn’t aware that the impact was as great as it was in terms of ⁓ inspiring ⁓ the desire to ideally continue to contribute to the body of knowledge. But much gratitude.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (21:27)
Hmm.
I feel like we didn’t prep for this like before we started record, but I feel like between Deb, Mary Lou and Lori, y’all just like took these sections and ran with it on the importance of research, which I so appreciate. I’d like to now, I mean, obviously we have this dynamic panel of four students here. One of the things that I see a lot in physical therapy is, you know, we have these powerhouses of research who have been pumping out research for a very long time, like prolific researchers.
But there is oftentimes a gap between, you know, the more experienced, the older generation of physical therapists, and then the new and emerging professionals. And I think that’s really, I don’t think, I see this, and I believe this wholeheartedly in the Onco PT, that that’s a disservice that we do to our profession. Because if we’re not facilitating that, basically, connection, that pipeline between the older, experienced,
clinicians and then the newer emerging ones, we’re going to have kind of a like a fallout in the middle where we have clinicians who are excited, they’re passionate about this area, but they kind of get into life, right? They kind of get into the like the middle stages of their career and they’re like, I am just trying to get through the day sometimes. And maybe that connection to research isn’t really accessible to them. They want to be interested, you know, into it, they are interested in it, but that connection is really lacking.
So why is it so important now that we bringing research, we’re bringing student researchers and the new generation of physical therapists into this very important research work that we’re doing?
Tim Blaney (23:26)
Hi, this is Tim. ⁓ I’m just jumping out. think that having the opportunity for me was definitely like a big part of it. I mean, I know a lot of students in my school, they don’t even get the opportunity past like what’s in our curriculum. ⁓ So really just like I know now that people have saw that I’ve done it, hopefully that they know that that’s like an option that they could do it. So and even speaking with some of my like younger ⁓
therapists at like my clinicals, they talk about wanting to be involved in research, but maybe not having the opportunity. Especially at my last clinical placement, they were trying to partner with different schools to get ⁓ researchers in to do some, work with some of their patients. And that was kind of like a new exciting thing. So I think it’s ⁓ having therapists know that it’s like, there’s like opportunities out there is definitely a big part of it. And my experience in talking to some of them.
Rachel Cook (24:26)
This is Rachel. I think really for me, it’s so intimidating going into research, especially when we’re introduced to it in like the very first year of our program. But something I really liked is that we’ve had ever since our first year in the program to work with a faculty member and even other mentors that especially for us on our project and just having those mentors that were able to ask questions and get all of this knowledge before we’re graduating.
And I feel like it sets us up a lot more for not being intimidated once we start our careers in that if we do want to go back into research, we know ways to get involved. We know people we can reach out to. And I think it’s just really great for us, especially that we’ve had such great mentors to be able to ask questions. And even if somebody doesn’t know the answer, there’s always somebody willing to find an answer for us. So I think just not being afraid to ask questions. And I really think it’s been a lot less intimidating since we’ve been able to work with such great people.
So I think just trying to not be intimidated by it and knowing that there’s always resources also to reach out to.
Sidney Crick (25:32)
This is Sydney. I think kind of piggybacking off of what Tim was saying, like just spreading the word that research is possible and you can reach out to whoever like you need at your university or different colleagues. I don’t think any of us pictured we would be speaking at a national conference when we first started. So I think realizing that even if you start small, it can turn into this huge thing where we’re impacting all these lives and we’re getting the message out is something that’s really important. ⁓
to spread the word to say hey, even though you don’t think that this is gonna have a big impact like it can.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (26:08)
Hmm.
Brianna Breedy (26:11)
piggyback off of Rachel, she said the importance of having really good mentors, I feel like that was the key for me at least, wanting to do future research because I know there’s a lot of different groups and some are felt rushed or they didn’t have the support of their mentors where for us, we can send an email to Lori, she’s responding in an hour, or you send her a text at nine o’clock, she probably will still respond to you, or even Dr. Mary Lou and Dr. Dury, so they were really supportive with us. I think that was the most important thing for me at least now.
to do research in the future.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (26:44)
Nice, nice.
Deb Doherty (26:45)
Can I step in here? This is Deb, and I want to take this to a bigger level. So I am so thrilled with the students that we have here. And you are our future, as Dr. Gallantino already said. And we are thrilled to watch you. But I’m going to challenge you and all the listeners out there to the next level. Because one of the reasons there is that gap is because of the system that we work within.
If we really, I think we’re both doing OU and Stockton are doing a great job with research with students. Then you get out into the field and it’s crazy work and you’re only doing research if you have a little tiny opportunity and you’re doing it on your own time. What we need is the organizations, the administration, the insurance companies to value research.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (27:30)
Mm-hmm
Deb Doherty (27:40)
and say that part of every one of our jobs as a clinician in the field should be that you have to be involved in research. universities are welcoming. They would love to have more clinicians be part of research because it’s hard to do prospective research on patients because universities many times, and we’ve had this problem at OU, you can’t get the patients to come to the university. So I challenge you out there.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (27:41)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Deb Doherty (28:10)
this younger generation to be part of the decision-making process, be part of the process of changing the landscape of what’s considered valuable as a clinician. And if we’re out there fighting for it, eventually someday, maybe that will be part of your job description that you have to do research and you’ll be paid to do research along with being a clinician.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (28:28)
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (28:33)
I just want to say that was a passionate plea for everyone at every level of healthcare, no matter who we’re treating and which population we’re treating, especially in this climate of 2025. Research is essential and without it, we cannot advance forward as a country within any population that we treat. to that point,
Elise – @TheOncoPT (28:43)
Yep. Yep.
Mary Lou Galantino (28:57)
of continuing research, this translational research, it could be something as simple as looking at referral sources. How can we simply increase our referral sources from oncologists, nurse practitioners, primary care physicians? And so I think where a major impact is our visibility in the cancer survivorship community.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (29:03)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (29:25)
Looking at American Cancer Society, I’m on the professional advisory board for cancer support community across the nation. We’re down in the trenches with the people in the community. That’s where they see us and who am I? I’m a clinician. ⁓ I literally introduce myself as a physical therapist doing not just cancer research, but implementation of the best practices in the community.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (29:35)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (29:53)
And to that point, to what ⁓ Lori brought up, I think really the ability to look at the heavy lift and the challenge of caregivers, especially in palliative care and hospice, they need to be resourced. And that’s where policy makers can actually look at how do we facilitate reimbursement, not just for the deliverable of cancer rehabilitation, but also the support systems around them. Thank you.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (30:21)
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (30:23)
Lori.
Lori Boright (30:24)
This is Lori. I wanted to take one half step back and address something that I think will hopefully help address the gap. Tim actually so eloquently brought this up in terms of being in the clinic and working with clinicians and looking at students who are doing research. Maybe we are inspiring, right? But how do we cross that bridge? How do we introduce the clinician to research? I am here to tell you that, again, reinforcing what Deb had mentioned,
we on the university and academic side would welcome clinical partnership, but how do we bridge that gap and how do we make the connections? I truly believe it is through our association and our state level and national conferences. If you attend a conference and see something that might inspire you, ⁓
you connect with those clinicians, right? That’s how we bridge the gaps. And so often I hear, what’s the benefit of membership? What’s the benefit of going to these conferences? There you have it, folks. If you want to contribute, which I believe is part of our professional responsibility in terms of growth of the profession, and that’s how we make it accessible to the clinical workforce. I am, you know,
delighted to hear that my students think that I’m accessible. I’m accessible not only to the students, but also to the colleagues that I work with. I mean, there are individuals who, again, would love to partner, and that’s where we make those connections. Other events as well, but I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention the benefit of our association on multiple levels, but certainly, you know,
connecting the research and the academic side. We’re fortunate in the state of Michigan, we have an annual research conference. This year we’ll be in Gaylord, wonderful area of Northern Michigan, sharing the good works that our students as well as faculty and even clinical.
partners across the state are doing. my challenge is to attend these conferences and to start to network with individuals who are really making a difference. not that, certainly clinicians are making a huge difference, but we can partner and the growth and development of this particular space will hopefully continue to grow.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (32:44)
So when I first started practicing as an oncopete, I would educate patients one-on-one of like, this is what cancer-related fatigue is, et cetera, et cetera. And after doing that for a while, which I still enjoy doing with my own patients, I had this kind of realization of.
I could be telling my patients this or I could take it one step back and talk to other physical therapists about this so that they can tell their own patients. And so through this journey of like, I’m constantly going back of like, how can I go one step further upstream so that I’m not the only one in Fort Worth, Texas talking about this? And so I’ve eventually arrived at like, now I do.
adjunct work at my local university. teaching pre-physical therapy students, I guest lecture with DPT, PTA programs, et cetera. But I think this, and this is what I think Mary Lou was really driving at at the heart of her response to is when we’re having these conversations, when we’re involving students and early career professionals in this research, we’re kind of, we’re getting ahead of some of those conversations that I feel like we’re having to have again and again in physical therapy of like,
Yes, physical therapy is safe for people who have cancer. Yes, we can do exercise with these patients. And by involving the students as students, and some of you had oncology experience previously, some of you didn’t, but by involving students at this very early pivotal time in their career, we are kind of cutting through some of those conversations that we have needed to historically have. And again, the focus that y’all have been talking about on,
hospice and palliative care and caregiver care, not just for the patient. Imagine how transformative that is because we’re not having to reinvent the wheel. We’re not having to have these conversations again and again to try to advocate for yes PT. It’s like these students are well aware of like yes PT and then, which I think is something that I really want for the listeners to take away from this conversation is like yes to all the things we’ve been talking about.
but we are kind of getting ahead of a lot of the problems that we’ve had with our profession and with the healthcare community really getting on board with oncology rehab. And I think for me, that’s really impactful with all of this.
Lori Boright (35:05)
I’ll chime in just briefly. To me, it is as simple as leading by example. We’re doing the work in the classroom. We’re doing the work as collaborative research. And for me, the ultimate goal is always the improving of quality of life for all of those who are touched by cancer. Again, not.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (35:10)
Mm-hmm.
Lori Boright (35:28)
Not only the patients but the people who help support the patients and how do we do that? We do that by leading by example
Elise – @TheOncoPT (35:37)
Mm-hmm. All right. Yeah, go ahead, Mary Lou.
Mary Lou Galantino (35:39)
This is what you do. I do want
to add one more element, and I think this is one wish that I have both for our students in the room here on this podcast and for the future generation for which I live. I will say that advocacy is now everything. Just today, one of my physician colleagues will be in DC ⁓ advocating for health care issues, both in HIV and oncology. ⁓
Elise – @TheOncoPT (35:57)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (36:07)
and she’s an internal medicine physician and it is essential that we get involved with the policy makers. We are in grave danger at this juncture when we’re looking at Medicaid, Medicare cuts. There hasn’t been a day that I’ve been a physical therapist, which is many decades, where I don’t see an email from our association regarding.
please speak to your representative about the latest Medicare cuts. We don’t always think about that as on the top of our list, to-do list, but it is really important because this is how we, our practices survive. This is how hospitals ⁓ can navigate ⁓ 501C3s and treat those who don’t have insurance. So there is an element of really using the resources within our association to assist with advocacy.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (36:43)
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (37:02)
I had the honor and the privilege to be our APTA representative on the Commission on Cancer, where we now have across the United States an accreditation standard as of 2020. So if an accredited cancer center does not have a referral source for oncology rehabilitation, they will be cited on their accreditation visit. ⁓
There is the other component of advocacy. So being able to take the data from our clinics wherever our students will go and work to be able to serve in that capacity meets that metric for all cancer centers across the United States. But being able to advocate for our patients and the payor systems is one of the other components that is equally as essential as implementation.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (37:56)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Deb Doherty (37:58)
And this is Deb. I, of course, concur with everything that’s been said. And then again, the other group we need to really focus on, you talked about, Elise, about talking to your fellow, your colleagues and other PT’s so that they can also discuss this. But we need to get to support groups. We need to get to community groups so that the general public understands what onc rehab is, because they can go to their physician and say, I want oncology rehab. They can demand it. They can ask for it. They can…
Elise – @TheOncoPT (38:21)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Deb Doherty (38:28)
push for the referral. So they need to be as well versed in understanding and knowledgeable of onc rehab as our clinicians do.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (38:36)
Mm
hmm. Absolutely. That’s my next step, Deb. I’m going to keep going back. I’m going to go back even further. So let me turn it back over to the students in our room here. So I would love to know, you know, we’ve talked about like the benefits of research, but what has been your experience as far as the actual day to day, the work on getting the research to where it can be published, to where it can be presented at conferences, et cetera, like all of the day to day, the grind.
that is not glamorized in research.
Rachel Cook (39:12)
I can start with that. It’s Rachel. So it was a lot more work than I thought it would be. Especially during our second year in the program, would say is when we kind of really got into it. And so second year in the program is probably the busiest year. And so we had class all day. We would do meetings at lunch, and then we would go home. We would study, work on our papers. And so I think just knowing the amount of time that actually goes into all of this.
and versus all we see, especially when we’re trying to find articles to back up what we’re thinking and what we’re saying is all you see is the published article, but the amount of work that actually goes into the amount of drafts that we had, the amount of different journals we looked at, the amount of different articles we looked at. And then once we finally finalize all that and then putting it into a PowerPoint to be able to present this at a conference, I think it’s so much more work than I am.
I anticipated, but it was so rewarding in the end because we were able to speak about this. We actually knew what we were talking about. We knew everything that went into it. And so I think it was really rewarding to be part of that whole process, but just the amount of time that went into it and the drafts that we did. And then even though we finished our paper and then we went into the process of turning it into a PowerPoint presentation, finding out what we wanted to say, the most important points of it. I think just trying to make sure
every single point that you want to talk about can be talked about in a way that is interesting to all the people listening to the presentation as well.
Tim Blaney (40:49)
Hey, this is Tim. So I’m kind of going off of what Rachel said a little bit. The amount of steps was definitely like a eye-opening thing. Like, I don’t know how many drafts and different types of abstracts. I wasn’t aware of how many different requirements all these ⁓ journals ⁓ or presentations, the different amount of abstracts requirements. Some are different word counts, some are different formats. So that was kind of like an eye-opening thing.
And also just like the amount of time. don’t know what the final count of the amount of times we met over Zoom was, but it seemed like kind of just like a normal part of my routine that like once a month we would meet together. And then after we presented, it was kind of like, I guess that was like the last time that we’re we’re like meeting with the group, really, besides a couple like follow up. So really, it kind of felt like it was like a part of my routine almost was like working on this project throughout the years now. So.
⁓ Seeing the amount of work that goes into each research project was definitely like, ⁓ you gain a lot of respect for each project that’s ⁓ published that you read now. Like if I look at a research article, you kind of can feel how much work they put into it and it puts in the perspective, us going through the process.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (42:06)
Yeah.
Sidney Crick (42:12)
This is Sydney. I think for me, one of the biggest things that I didn’t realize was how to learn how to write or like portray yourself research wise. So I just remember Dr. Galantino critiquing my intro that I fixed like 10 times. And she’s like, you did great writing it, but you kind of have to take your personality out of it and make it more research. And I guess that was something like I never realized. You know, we don’t think.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (42:34)
Yeah.
Sidney Crick (42:41)
of things like that. I think also translating that to the PowerPoint and making sure like Dr. Doherty would make all the ands like the and sign. So it’s like all the little things we don’t really realize on a day to day as being a student is like so different in research. And I’m very grateful to have learned all that because I don’t think you really appreciate like Tim was saying when you’re reading an article how much time and all the minute details that goes into it. So I think that was a really big take take away for me.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (43:02)
Mm-hmm. ⁓
utterly.
Brianna Breedy (43:12)
I mean, to build off them, they were all correct about like this process. mean, the amount of steps I think was the biggest thing. mean, for me, the biggest challenge to me and Tim were writing the methods, but none of us were actually there to see how the methodology was done. So I remember me and Tim having separate Zoom meetings trying to figure out, how was this done? Where, how should we write this? So we portray everything that was done by Dr. Gallatino. So I think that was so much of like a challenge for us. But again, like the amount of drafts, I didn’t know there were so many different
abstracts
how you could write the abstracts or just like someone made an edit here and you’re like oh I didn’t think about that so it just like the amount of edits and the amount of drafts that we kept just building on and I thought that was like kind of interesting and then put into perspective like there’s some people who just do a research with just one person and then them having to do all of that and we had seven people and it was so so much so kind of put in perspective like doing research by yourself.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (43:50)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, absolutely.
So what are the next steps for this work that y’all are doing? I’d love to hear from both this project, but also for the students, what happens next for y’all? Where are y’all going? Are you going to continue in research?
Tim Blaney (44:36)
⁓ my future, so I actually was talking to Dr. Gallantino yesterday about she has a future trip to Swaziland coming up and she asked me to help her kind of do a similar thing with ⁓ just looking at the presentations and try to adapt it towards ⁓ their culture and their needs. So ⁓ that sounds like something exciting. Hopefully it’ll be something similar. We get similar results or well, whatever comes out. So that’s kind of like the next step for me. And then hopefully after school, I can be a
I know new grad physical therapy being starting out, it’s not a lot of time. You’re kind of jumping into the new way, new career. So hopefully I could still be involved somehow. I know Dr. Galantino is somebody I can reach out to if I ever need any help trying to get involved.
Sidney Crick (45:34)
I know for us at Oakland, working on, we have a research day. So we’re working on finalizing that to present to our university. And then like Lori was saying in Gaylord, we’re hoping to present at the Michigan Conference. And then I just think for me personally in the future, I would love to continue to help research in this ⁓ oncology rehabilitation any way I can. I think it’s really important and I found myself really enjoying this.
So I’m hoping that I can keep up with everything you guys are doing in the future.
Rachel Cook (46:10)
It’s Rachel. So I think like Sydney said, we’re working on a research day presentation that’s going to be next month. And after that, I mean, we’re going to start clinicals. And I think bringing everything we’ve learned into our clinicals is really important. And also then, you know, once we graduate and become licensed clinicians, I think just bringing everything we’ve learned. And then once we’re seeing patients and being able to
take away more from the clinician aspect, then I think I would love to be involved with research and trying to find different ways to incorporate it within the clinical setting and the research aspect of it. So I think that would be a really great way to get involved with research. But after this experience, it’s definitely something I’m more open to than I thought I would be open to when I first started all the research process.
Brianna Breedy (47:04)
Hi, this is Brianna. Like Rachel said, I think, again, using the information that we gained from this experience into our future clinicals and then our future practice. And I’m definitely interested in going into research maybe a couple of years down the line when I’m more of an experienced clinician and trying to go through that kind of route.
Lori Boright (47:24)
And this is Lori. I’ll chime in just to kind of ⁓ put the umbrella over the whole ⁓ scenario here. And I’m glad to hear that the students are at least willing to consider contributing to the body of knowledge going forward. You know that I’m accessible and that I will be here. So I’m happy to help either connect you with individuals or engage you certainly ⁓ as your schedules allow. I do want to talk briefly about the next steps for the project in general.
We are expanding to other countries. So we had ⁓ a team that went to Bosnia last year as well to deliver the modules in a couple of different locations in Bosnia. So that was wonderful. We have a wonderful clinician that we partner with in Lebanon. So we are working on a few different projects with her in Lebanon. And we have more ⁓ wonderful work to be done in South Africa and Swaziland.
As Tim had mentioned, Dr. Gallantino will be returning there this summer. So the work is expanding in wonderful ways. I do see that there still are needs here in the United States. So Dr. Doherty and I are working on ways to continue to expand under, you know, served areas here in the United States as well. So.
really students, this is for you, there are wonderful ways to continue to stay connected to this specific project and its growth. But again, the opportunities are relatively endless in terms of what we need to look at and how we can ⁓ continue to improve survivorship.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (49:03)
Okay, so with that, thank you so much to everybody on the panel today for coming. I so appreciate your time. Lori, thanks for reaching out and letting me know that this project was happening. This is really exciting. And it’s also really exciting to see the next generation, like Mary Lou has said multiple times in this interview, the next generation of physical therapists who are taking this work forward and continuing.
to adapt it to the challenges that we’re going to continue facing in oncology rehab. So I appreciate each and every one of your time today. And Lori, I’ll reach out if we can get like some docs, if people are interested in like reading about this specific project, it would be super to get that information. Or if you’d like to share that now so people can start looking, that would be super cool too.
Lori Boright (49:50)
It’s currently in review in an international publication. as soon as we have the publication details, I can share that. I will say the abstract was published because these fine and exceptional students presented at combined sections just in February of 2025. So that abstract was published in those conference proceedings. And I expect certainly more to come from that. And I can certainly get you some ways to connect with.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (50:17)
Very nice.
Lori Boright (50:20)
you know, the work specifically.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (50:23)
Time itless.
Mary Lou Galantino (50:25)
And Elise, if I just may, really and to Lori, the leadership in innovation of dissemination of this work has really been, ⁓ you know, thankfully to Lori’s connection at so many levels ⁓ to connect with you, Elise. We want to thank you for and all the listeners here today to really take the time to appreciate what mentorship
really means in the context of the Academy when we ⁓ are entrusted our students to graduate from our entry level DPT programs, that they do have deep and meaningful relationships with professors, adjunct and otherwise clinicians that come into the classroom. Because I do believe that that’s the imprinting that gives the passion behind every one of these four students in this podcast today.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (51:21)
Mm-hmm.
Mary Lou Galantino (51:21)
It is
the dedication of mentors that help us grow in a way that ignites that level of passion. so thank you for allowing us to be here on the podcast, the Anco PT podcast, and for the opportunity to really bring in students because they are our shining stars of the future. Thank you so much.
Deb Doherty (51:45)
Yes, and I want to thank you too, Elise. You have taken our profession and this particular topic of oncology rehab to a whole new level with your podcasting and your symposiums that you do. You are a force to be reckoned with and we have a lot of respect for you. So thank you so much for what you’re doing for our profession.
Elise – @TheOncoPT (52:08)
Thank you, Deb. That means a lot to hear that. Thank you, y’all. I really appreciate it.