Webinar - The Use of Yoga for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders

On-Demand Webinar:

Children treated for chronic illnesses endure challenging side effects from both disease and treatments that impact physical and psychological health. Pediatric hematology-oncology (PHO) providers should be versed in supportive therapies to improve physical functioning, support mental health, decrease symptom burden, and enhance wellness. Yoga is one example of a discipline that can be integrated into the care of PHO patients to enhance the mental and physical health of children during cancer therapy, and beyond. Yoga is a mind-body practice that may promote relaxation, reduce anxiety and pain, while maintaining strength, flexibility, and stamina. Yoga therapy has been studied widely in adult cancer patients with proven benefits in physical and quality of life metrics, but less data exists regarding its use in children with cancer/blood disorders. The goal of this presentation is to familiarize PHO providers with the benefits of yoga for their patients and to provide program development pearls from two academic PHO programs. The speakers will provide data cataloging the benefits of yoga in adults with cancer, the limited available data for use of yoga in children with PHO diagnoses (including sickle cell disease), and discussion regarding potential avenues to offer yoga in the hospital setting.

Learning Objectives:

• Define yoga as a practice and discuss the potential benefits for children with PHO diagnoses.
• Provide data from the literature cataloging the benefits of the use of yoga for children with cancer or blood disorders (supplementing with data for the adult cancer populations as this is widely published).
• Discuss development of yoga training and practice in the clinical setting (inpatient and/or outpatient) and the incorporation of yoga trained providers into the care of children with PHO diagnoses.

Speakers:

• Holly Spraker-Perlman, MD MS ABOIM (moderator)
• Maggi Meyer, DPT
• Tonia Kulp, Yoga therapist
• Tracey Jubelirer, MD

The webinar features a lecture presentation followed by recorded Q/A. Registration includes on-demand access to the full recording.