Well Beyond Breast Cancer

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Well Beyond Breast Cancer

Everyone should have the opportunity to live well beyond breast cancer.

06/18/2026

Calling all oncology PTs & OTs! 🎉

Well Beyond Breast Cancer and are teaming up on a new, BIG initiative to help expand access to Breast Cancer Rehabilitation.

As we get ready for this exciting launch, we’re inviting PTs, OTs, PTAs, and OTAs with specialized training in Breast Cancer Rehabilitation to connect with us and be part of something truly meaningful.

This is an opportunity to help more individuals get the care and support they deserve, while also increasing visibility of your services!

Interested in learning more?

Comment “YES” below, and we’ll send you the details!

06/16/2026

Join us this Thursday for a FREE webinar on Radiation Fibrosis with !

We’re so grateful to have our next educational webinar generously sponsored by , whose work helps support survivors in navigating the side effects of breast cancer treatment.

🗓️ June 18th from 12–1pm EST 📍 Virtual on Google Meet 💌 Register by clicking the link in our bio

During this educational webinar, Kelly Sturm, PT, DPT, OnCS, CLT-LANA, a Board-Certified Oncology Clinical Specialist and Certified Lymphedema Therapist, will explain why radiation fibrosis occurs and share specific tools and techniques for addressing it.

Kelly will discuss how these tissue changes can be treated through specialized care, helping survivors move beyond discomfort and return to the activities they love.

Her goal is to help participants better understand their healing process, recognize what is possible with the right support, and feel empowered with a clearer path toward feeling like themselves again.

The webinar will conclude with a 15-minute Q&A, giving you an opportunity to ask Kelly and your questions.

💜 Sign up today by clicking “educational workshops” in the link in our bio.

Unable to attend live? Register to receive the recording.

💜 Share to help other navigating radiation fibrosis.

06/15/2026

Tenderness along the side of the chest, ribs, and underarm is one of the most common symptoms after breast cancer surgery and radiation.

If you’ve experienced discomfort, tightness, or sensitivity in this area, you’re not alone.

These symptoms can develop due to changes in the nerves, scar tissue formation, muscle tightness, and altered movement patterns that occur during recovery.

Over time, tightness in the muscles along the side of the trunk and underarm can contribute to difficulty reaching overhead, changes in posture, and even pain and discomfort that radiates into the shoulder, arm, or mid-back.

Gentle stretching can help improve mobility, reduce tightness, and restore more comfortable movement.

In this video, Berfin, an oncology Physical Therapist, demonstrates 3 exercises that can help.

1️⃣ Sidelying Lat Stretch: Lie on your unaffected side with your knees bent. Reach your affected arm overhead until you feel a gentle stretch along the side of your trunk and underarm. Hold for 20–30 seconds and repeat 3 times. To increase the stretch, place a rolled towel or foam roller beneath your side.

2️⃣ Doorway Lat Stretch: Stand facing a doorway and reach your affected arm overhead to hold the door frame. Gently sit your hips back and lean your body away from the door until you feel a gentle stretch from your underarm down along your ribs. Hold for 20–30 seconds and repeat 3 times.

3️⃣ Modified Child’s Pose at a Counter: Stand facing a counter with your hands shoulder distance apart. Keep your arms straight as you step back and hinge forward at your hips. Allow your chest and head to relax between your arms until you feel a stretch in your back, shoulders, and sides. Hold for 20–30 seconds and repeat 3 times. To target the affected side more, cross your affected hand over your unaffected hand.

As with any exercise after breast cancer treatment, stretches should feel gentle and comfortable, NOT painful.

Always check with your healthcare team before beginning a new exercise program during and after breast cancer.

💜 Save these exercises.

💜 Share these exercises to help others.

06/11/2026

Join us next Thursday for a FREE educational webinar on Radiation Fibrosis.

🗓️ June 18th from 12-1pm EST
📍 Virtual on Google Meet
💌 Register by using the link in our bio

In this educational webinar, Kelly Sturm, PT, DPT, OnCS, CLT-LANA, a Board-Certified Oncology Clinical Specialist and Certified Lymphedema Therapist, will explain why radiation fibrosis occurs and share specific tools and techniques for treating it.

Kelly will discuss how these tissue changes can be addressed through specialized care, helping survivors move beyond discomfort and return to the activities they love.

Her goal is to help participants better understand their healing process, recognize what is possible with the right support, and feel empowered with a clearer path toward feeling like themselves again.

The webinar will conclude with a 15-minute Q&A, giving you an opportunity to ask Kelly your questions.

This webinar is sponsored by

💜 Sign up today by clicking “educational workshops” in the link in our bio.

💜 Share to help other survivors.

06/02/2026

Join us for our next free educational webinar: Why the Tightness? Understanding and Managing Radiation Fibrosis

🗓️ June 18th from 12-1pm EST
📍 Virtual on Google Meet
💌 Register by using the link in our bio

This webinar is sponsored by

If you’ve been feeling arm or chest restrictions and tightness after treatment, you are not alone, and there is so much that can be done to help.

In this educational webinar, Kelly Sturm, PT, DPT, OnCS, CLT-LANA, a Board-Certified Oncology Clinical Specialist and Certified Lymphedema Therapist, will explain why radiation fibrosis occurs and share specific tools and techniques for treating it.

Kelly will discuss how these tissue changes can be addressed through specialized care, helping survivors move beyond discomfort and return to the activities they love.

Her goal is to help participants better understand their healing process, recognize what is possible with the right support, and feel empowered with a clearer path toward feeling like themselves again.

The webinar will conclude with a 15-minute Q&A, giving you an opportunity to ask Kelly your questions.

💜 Sign up today by clicking “educational workshops” in the link in our bio.

💜 Share to help other survivors.

06/01/2026

New podcast episode! 🎉

In this episode, Dr. Alexandra Hill, PT, DPT, OnCS, PWCS, CLT-LANA, a dual Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Pelvic & Women’s Health and Oncologic Physical Therapy, brings light to one of the most overlooked topics in breast cancer recovery: sexual health.

Drawing from her clinical experience supporting people after cancer treatment, Alex explains why sexual wellness is often left out of survivorship conversations, even though up to 70% of survivors experience sexual dysfunction.

Alex discusses how hormonal therapy, surgery, and chemotherapy can affect sexual health after breast cancer, leading to concerns such as vaginal dryness, pain with intimacy, changes in libido, and body image challenges.

She also shares treatment options that can help individuals address these side effects and feel more comfortable in their bodies, including pelvic floor physical therapy, vaginal moisturizers, dilators, education, partner support, and self-advocacy.

This conversation helps normalize a topic that is too often met with silence and highlights why access to breast cancer rehabilitation must be included as an essential part of cancer care.

💜 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube - link in bio.

05/28/2026

This is why Breast Cancer Rehabilitation matters.

Breast cancer treatment affects so much more than just one area of the body.

Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and lymph node removal can impact how your muscles, nerves, scar tissue, and lymphatic system function.

These changes can affect everyday activities like reaching overhead, lifting, sleeping comfortably, exercising, getting dressed, and even feeling comfortable in your body again.

But Breast Cancer Rehabilitation can ease these side effects, restore comfort and movement, and help individuals rebuild confidence in their bodies throughout recovery.

This patient is recovering after a right breast mastectomy, lymph node removal, reconstruction surgery, and radiation.

When she first came in, she was experiencing tightness, soreness, pain, weakness, limited mobility, and nerve symptoms affecting both arms.

In this video, you’ll see the before and after of her arm movement in just ONE session, along with some of the specialized techniques used, including:

✨Gentle myofascial and muscle release to decrease tightness and improve movement

✨Scar tissue massage over the breast and abdomen to help tissues move more comfortably

✨Treatment for Axillary Web Syndrome (cording) to reduce pulling and restrictions

✨Mobility work to improve flexibility and range of motion

Healing after breast cancer treatment is not just about being cancer-free. It is about moving, feeling, and living well beyond breast cancer.

05/25/2026

After radiation for breast cancer, chest tightness is common.

You may notice stiffness, tightness, or a pulling sensation through your chest and ribcage both during and after radiation.

Over time, these tissues can become less flexible due to radiation-related fibrosis, which is why gentle stretching is so important.

⭐️ Here Caitha, an Occupational Therapist specialized in Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, demos two gentle chest openers helpful during and after radiation.

1️⃣ Windshield Wipers: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet slightly wider than your hips. Rest your arms by your side or in a “T” position, with palms facing up. Inhale as your knees drop to the right, feeling a gentle stretch through your chest and ribs. Exhale to return to center, then inhale to drop your knees to the left. Repeat 10x.

2️⃣ Butterfly: Lie on your back with your feet flat on the ground. Interlace your fingers and place them behind your head. As you exhale, gently let your elbows open toward the floor, going as far as feels comfortable. Then on your inhale, bring your elbows back together. Repeat 10x.

For individualized exercises, we always recommend working with a Physical or Occupational Therapist specialized in Breast Cancer Rehabilitation.

💜 Save these exercises.

💜 Share to help others in their recovery.

05/24/2026

Listen to Sadia’s story in Episode 2 of our podcast!

In this episode, Sadia Zapp, Managing Director of Communications and Content at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (), shares what it was like to go from working in the breast cancer field to becoming a breast cancer patient herself.

Sadia opens up about the realities many young individuals face after diagnosis, including fertility concerns, treatment-induced menopause, body image changes, and the emotional weight of navigating cancer at a younger age.

Sadia also shares how her own diagnosis reshaped her view of survivorship and why she now advocates for more comprehensive care.

💜 Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube - link in our bio.

Address

286 Madison Avenue, Suite 1601
New York, NY
10017

Telephone

+19299207740

Website

http://www.wellbeyondbreastcancer.org/

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