Pelvic Health Resources Podcast

Susannah Haarmann
Pelvic Health Resources Podcast

Pelvic health and breast cancer rehab specialists are improving healthcare for people's privates! This podcast provides expert interviews in these 'niche' areas to help you show up more confident in business and patient care while avoiding burnout. Every month we cycle through 4 topics: business, pelvic health, breast cancer rehab & self-care in health care. Count on Pelvic Health Resources Podcast to help you get down to the core of business, body, and being!

Episodes

  1. What is comprehensive breast cancer care?

    06/05/2023

    What is comprehensive breast cancer care?

    Often, when people hear breast cancer rehab they think of lymphedema treatment, but there is so much more we can do! Comprehensive breast cancer care is about knowing how to prevent and treat ALL of the side effects of breast cancer. If patients have post-op issues such as seromas, lymphatic cording, shoulder dysfunction or core compromise…they need access to a rehab provider who can help! And sadly, there just are not enough of us.  So many people are living with chronic pain after treatment, like post-mastectomy pain syndrome, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, joint pain, and dyspareunia. Often, these are seen as unfortunate side effects from life-saving interventions, but it doesn’t mean that they are not preventable and treatable!  As rehab practitioners, we have a unique perspective on systems integration. Few professions out there understand anatomy and can apply the bio-psycho-social model like we do! Imagine the ability of cancer patients to get early intervention at the time of diagnosis and improved continuity of care across all areas of rehab from acute care to outpatient services and home health. As our profession grows and continues to fill in healthcare gaps, oncology will be one of those areas that gains momentum as comprehensive cancer care expands. -         Link to the FREE resource Safe Exercise Screening Tool for Breast Cancer Patients + Analysis & Next Steps -         Link to the Do No Harm Breast Cancer Rehab Guide; it will tell you what modalities, exercises, manual therapies and more are contra-indicated or where you should take precautions after specific cancer treatments.

    21 min
  2. Need to Know Info about Breast Implants

    06/05/2023

    Need to Know Info about Breast Implants

    Are breast implants safe? In this episode we talk to Danielle Valoras, a physicians assistant specializing in psycho-neuro-endocrine immunology and an advocate for transparent conversations regarding the safety of breast implants. Danielle experience varied vague symptoms like fatigue, connective tissue issues, swelling, hair loss, brain fog and even depression-like symptoms. Eventually she was not able to use her left arm. Physical exertion lead to migraines. Multiple doctors and practitioners did not link these symptoms to her breast implants. She got an explant less than 2 years later and immediately could breathe more easily and use her left arm.After the implant and surrounding capsule were removed a seroma formed. This seroma (fluid filled pocket) formed after the implant was removed, but interestingly, testing showed silicone within the seroma as well! This is important to consider due to the risk of Breast Implant Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Carcinoma (BIA-ALCL) which is a lymphoma associated with textured implants. Although there was a mass recall on textured implants, Danielle explains that any breast implant is a foreign body and no matter the type, silicone can shed from the shell of the implant into the capsule and surrounding fatty tissue.Breast implant illness has been a diagnosis of exclusion up to this point meaning that the breast implant and surrounding capsule are removed (explanted) to determine if symptoms resolve. But recent testing via MRI has the capacity to determine physiological involvement of the implant by looking for silicone induced granulomas (SIGBIC - silicone induced granuloma of breast implant capsule). This is not yet a widely known diagnostic method and does require a polarized lighting microscope to detect the presence of silicone bleeding related to implants.Danielle's experience with breast implant illness spun her career as a physician's assistant into advocacy. Her quest for answers and treatment options is crossing into the rehab world; she lights up talking about breath work to calm the nervous system, and manual therapy for lymphatic drainage and visceral mobilization.As if breast implant illness isn't a controversial topic, we talk about other touchy subjects too, like radiation over expanders and implants, informed consent for breast reconstruction, and rehab services pre and post implant placement. This is an interesting conversation as we merge the worlds of breast implant illness with comprehensive care for breast cancer patients. If you are a medical or rehab provider who would like to know more about structure and function as it pertains to breast implants & reconstruction, check out the course Breast Cancer Rehabilitation; Comprehensive Evaluation & Treatment. I look forward to collaborating with Danielle in the future about how we can improve function for people with implants and quality of life for those who experience breast implant illness.  For more information about the safety of implants please visit the resources page from the 2020 Breast Implant Health Summit. If you would like to get in touch with Danielle, you can find her on Instagram @navwell or on the Breast Implant Health Summit.  Get in the conversation by joining the Facebook group Pelvic Health & Breast Cancer Rehab Specialists. Informed care isn't easy, but it is necessary

    1h 5m
4.9
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Pelvic health and breast cancer rehab specialists are improving healthcare for people's privates! This podcast provides expert interviews in these 'niche' areas to help you show up more confident in business and patient care while avoiding burnout. Every month we cycle through 4 topics: business, pelvic health, breast cancer rehab & self-care in health care. Count on Pelvic Health Resources Podcast to help you get down to the core of business, body, and being!

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada