Giving Psychosocial Support for Sexual Health Issues in Cancer Care

In a visit to Mary’s Place by the Sea, a cancer treatment center in Neptune Township, New Jersey, CancerNetwork® spoke with Alison Ankiewicz, PT, DPT, about the role that physical therapists may occupy to help patients with cancer navigate their treatment course. As part of the discussion, Ankiewicz described how she seeks to incorporate patient education and psychosocial support into her treatment plans for patients who experience sexual health issues.

During her examinations of patients, Ankiewicz stated that she observes the mannerisms of those she treats to gauge how much pain they are experiencing due to their disease or therapy. Moreover, she typically recommends that patients with pain seek out counseling as part of a multidisciplinary care plan. While tending to the physical needs of patients in the exam room, she sometimes sees stronger emotions emerge from patients who are experiencing pain; these feelings may, in turn, amplify the sensation of physical pain. Overall, she emphasized counseling sessions as a necessary component of a multidisciplinary approach to care.

Ankiewicz is co-owner of Inner Dynamics Physical Therapy, Pelvic Health and Wellness Center and a board member of Mary’s Place by the Sea.

Transcript:

Outside of the manual side of our practice...when we examine our patients, and we take a comprehensive history, we [examine] their mannerisms and where they are. I often recommend that our women who are [experiencing] pain seek out counseling because it’s a multidisciplinary approach that we would like to take. I do the physical side of it, but when I am often in the exam room, a lot of the emotions come out, especially those who are [experiencing] pain. [With] the consequences of cancer and the emotional impact, there is such an impact physically because of the emotions.Again, [we use] a multidisciplinary approach, so we will often recommend counseling sessions as well.