
L2026 Virtual CREATE™ - Childhood Cancer Rehabilitation
Greater than 80% of children diagnosed with cancer will survive for five or more years. With cure rates rising, emphasis in pediatric oncology is being placed not only on cure, but also on improving the quality of life of pediatric cancer survivors. Functional impairments and physical activity limitations are among the documented late effects of childhood cancer. These impairments begin early in treatment and can contribute to functional performance limitations long into adulthood. Currently, cancer patients are severely underserved by rehabilitation services with treatment rates as low as 1-2%. This course will provide comprehensive cancer rehabilitation program training designed to educate the inter-professional team in providing evidence-based rehabilitation services to a complex population in a complex setting. This course will include education on functional impairments of childhood cancer survivors, evidence-based rehabilitation assessment and interventions (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology), oncology provider screening recommendations, the prospective surveillance model of care across the cancer continuum, and inter-professional program development components.
A peer-reviewed article surveying cancer rehabilitation providers across the world recently identified Children's Minnesota as a source of recommended education stating "When respondents identified relevant continuing education opportunities they typically referenced professional organizations or courses conducted by or at 3 institutions: Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital."1
Participants from last course stated:
"The information provided in this course will be crucial in the development of a hem/onc program at my hospital!"
"I significantly enjoyed this 2-day course! It was very thorough while also engaging. It was helpful across many areas within practice, such as education, medical course of care/diagnoses, rehabilitation roles, OT assessment/treatment, creating/expanding an oncology rehab program, case study scenarios."
"This course was excellent- exactly what I was looking/hoping for."
If you would like to learn more about this educational opportunity prior to registering, please join us for a free informational webinar
Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. CT.
Click on the link below to register and/or join the webinar.
SAVE $50 NOW through DECEMBER 15, 2025 BY ENTERING THE COUPON CODE: EARLYBIRD AT CHECKOUT
REGISTRATION CLOSES January 23, 2026
GROUP Discounts: We offer group discounts. The discount will be applied after each person from your organization has registered for the course. 4 or more = 10% off your registration fee; 10 or more = 20% off your registration fee. The discount will be applied as a credit to the payment method used once attendance has been verified.
Do you live outside of the U.S. or currently a student?
We encourage participation from our colleagues around the world. Our registration fees are based on country of residence. Please refer to the current World Bank classification link below, as discounted rates are available for participants residing in countries of the low and middle-income categories. In addition, we encourage students to attend at a discounted rate.
World Bank Country Classification
If you are eligible for a discounted rate, please email Children’s MN at [email protected] for further qualification criteria and discount code.
If you have questions about course content, please contact [email protected].
If you have questions about education credits, please contact [email protected].
1. Houdeshell MJ, Thomas KM, King AA, L'Hotta AJ. Limitations of Current Rehabilitation Practices in Pediatric Oncology: Implications for Improving Comprehensive Clinical Care. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2021 Jul 30: doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2021.05.021. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34339659.
Target Audience
PTs, OTs, SLPs, RNs, Oncology clinicians
Learning Objectives
- Summarize the functional impairments found in the literature and rehabilitation evidence in childhood cancer survivors
- Compare and contrast the different cancer types, treatments, and implications for rehabilitation
- Outline the inter-professional program development and execution required for a successful cancer rehab program
- Describe and apply rehabilitation assessment and intervention strategies for children with cancer
Final agenda is subject to change
Day 1 - January 30, 2026 | |
|---|---|
Time = CST | Content |
| 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. | Childhood Cancer Rehabilitation Intro |
| 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. | Cancer Types and Treatment Basics |
| 10:00 - 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. | Functional Impact of Childhood Cancer and Treatment |
| 12:15 - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:15 - 1:45 p.m. | Childhood Cancer Rehabilitation from an Oncology Medical Director Perspective |
| 1:45 - 3:15 p.m. | Functional Impact of Childhood Cancer and Treatment cont. |
| 3:15 - 3:30 p.m. | Break |
| 3:30 - 4:00 p.m. | Activity Limitations and Participation Restrictions |
| 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. | Case study discussion |
Day 2 - January 31, 2026 | |
|---|---|
Time = CST | Content |
| 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. | Rehabilitation assessment and intervention evidence |
| 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. | Discipline Breakouts - Assessment and Intervention A) Physical therapy – Assessment and Intervention in children with non-CNS cancer B) Occupational therapy – Assessment and Intervention in children with non-CNS cancer C) Speech-language pathology – Assessment and Intervention: Feeding and swallowing D) Oncology provider – Screening and referral: CNS pre-post surgical inter-professional program |
| 10:00 - 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. | Discipline Breakouts - Assessment and Intervention A) Physical therapy – Assessment and Intervention in children/AYA with CNS cancer B) Occupational therapy – Assessment and intervention in children/AYA with CNS cancer C) Speech-language pathology – Assessment and intervention regarding communication D) Oncology provider – Collaboration approaches, toxicity management, late effects |
| 12:15 - 1:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:15 - 2:45 p.m. | CREATE Childhood Cancer Rehabilitation Program Components and Evidence from Children's Minnesota |
| 2:45 - 3:00 p.m. | Break |
| 3:00 - 3:30 p.m. | All Discipline Case Studies |
| 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. | Inter-professional Panel Discussion |
FACULTY DISCLOSURE ANNOUNCEMENT
It is our intent that any potential conflict should be identified openly so that the listeners may form their own judgments about the presentation with the full disclosure of the facts. It is not assumed any potential conflicts will have an adverse impact on these presentations. It remains for the audience to determine whether the speaker’s outside interest may reflect a possible bias, either the exposition or the conclusions presented.
The following presenter(s) have disclosed they have a relevant financial relationship with an ineligible company whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients and have disclosed that a conflict of interest exists with the presentation. An explanation of how the conflict is being mitigated is listed below.
Lynn Tanner, PT, PhD has disclosed that she is the CEO/Founder of YourSteps Health, Inc. creating digital solutions for pediatric rehabilitation. This relationship is not relevant to the content being presented and all relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
All other planning committee members and presenters have disclosed they have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients and have disclosed that no conflict of interest exists with the presentation/educational event.
Lynn Tanner, PT, PhD, is the Scientific Director of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Children’s Minnesota. She has over 22 years of clinical, research, and operational experience in pediatric cancer rehabilitation. In her current role, she conducts research investigating peripheral neuropathy and the impact of PT in pediatric oncology. She has published multiple research manuscripts in collaboration with other experts in the field and leads a cancer rehabilitation program development training for other hospitals interested in evidence-based care. She has presented for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), American Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing Association Conferences, Children’s Hospitals Association, Children’s Oncology Group, and local Universities. Honors include the APTA Oncology Jeri F. Walton Award for Service, APTA Emerging Leader Award, Oncology Section Stephen Gudas Award for Outstanding Publication in Rehabilitation Oncology with Dr. Laura Gilchrist, and the Children’s Minnesota Board Quality award. She was co-creator and chair of the Pediatric Oncology Special Interest Group of the APTA and the Cancer Rehabilitation Networking Group Pediatric Task Force of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Currently she serves as the Education co-chair of the Rehabilitation & Physical Medicine SIG in the International Society of Paediatric Oncology..
Nikki Anderson, PhD, LP (she/her) earned a PhD in clinical psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She completed a clinical psychology internship at Children’s Minnesota, and a two-year fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Anderson provides neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental evaluations for children, adolescents, and young adults with a range of medical, neurodevelopmental, and neuropsychiatric conditions. She works with patients with cancer and late effects of treatments, brain injury and stroke, prematurity, prenatal exposure to toxic substances, epilepsy, genetic and congenital disorders, intellectual disability, developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, and attention disorders. Her primary interests are in cancer and blood disorders, and in understanding the impact of adverse childhood experiences on neurodevelopment. Dr. Anderson is also a member of the sickle cell disease and neuro-oncology teams at Children’s Minnesota, and provides neuropsychological evaluations for these patients. She also provides neuropsychological screenings embedded in the sickle cell clinic, and in the NICU follow up clinic.
Paula Anderson, OTR\L, PM&R Director
Jasmine Fischenich OTR/L is an occupational therapist at Children's Minnesota who splits time between both the inpatient oncology floor and outpatient HemOnc clinic. She earned her doctorate degree in occupational therapy from Ohio State University. Jasmine has worked at Children's Minnesota specifically with the pediatric oncology population for the last 3 years. She has pursued additional certifications as a functional vision rehabilitation specialist and certified brain injury specialist to better serve the unique needs of this patient population.
Allison Galkowski, DNP, APRN, CNP is a nurse practitioner in the Cancer and Blood Disorders Program at Children's of Minnesota. She received her undergraduate nursing degree from Saint Louis University and received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Creighton University. Her interests include neuro-oncology, pediatric oncofertility, survivorship, and patient education.
Laura Gilchrist PT, PhD, is a Professor in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at St. Catherine University, in St. Paul, MN. Since 2007, she has also held the position of Clinical Research Scientist in the Oncology Program at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. She has a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. Her current research focuses on assessing chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathies and their impact on balance control and overall physical function. She has externally funded grants from the American Cancer Society and St. Baldrick’s Foundation for this work. In addition, she has published 2 clinical practice guidelines in oncology rehabilitation. She has served on the board of directors for the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association and currently heads the Development of Evidence-Based Practice documents for this group.
Bonnie Carlson-Green PhD, LP, is a Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Children's Minnesota. She earned her PhD from Georgia State University in Atlanta, completed her internship at Children's Memorial Medical Center (now Lurie Children's Hospital) in Chicago, followed by a 2-year fellowship in neuropsychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She remained there as a staff pediatric neuropsychologist until joining Children's in 1996 to develop the neuropsychology program for pediatric cancer patients. In addition to her work with children with various forms of cancer, she sees a variety of patients with medical, learning and developmental disorders from infancy to young adults and enjoys the opportunity to follow her patients over the course of childhood into adulthood. Dr. Carlson-Green’s research includes Cogmed working memory interventions with brain tumor survivors and other neurocognitive and developmental outcomes in brain tumor patients. Dr. Carlson-Green's interests include parent advocacy for students with special needs, transition planning, and neurodevelopmental outcomes after childhood cancer and cancer survivor issues. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, travel, Nordic skiing, and open water swimming.
Sharyl Samargia-Grivette, PhD CCC-SLP, is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She earned her B.A.S. and M.A. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and her PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She is interested in optimizing neuroplasticity for motor and communication recovery after stroke and brain injury through an integrative rehabilitation approach including neuromodulation.
Susan Kearney, MD
Diane Lesmeister, OTR/L is an occupational therapist at Children’s Minnesota leading the occupational therapy team in the Cancer and Blood Disorders clinic. She began working at Children’s Minnesota in 2001 and has contributed to the multidisciplinary feeding clinic, OT practice board, and development of best clinical practice guidelines for children and adolescents with oncology diagnosis. She has received her certification in pediatric vestibular rehabilitation to improve assessment and intervention in children with concussion and oncology diagnoses. She also works on the clinical research team investigating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in young children and a functional outcome database for children treated for blood cancers. She co-authored an invited manuscript on Cancer Rehabilitation in the Pediatric and Adolescent/Young Adult Population.
Lane Miller, MD, MSc, obtained a medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA, completed a residency in general pediatrics at Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland, OR, and completed a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology/BMT and obtained a masters degree in clinical research at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He is a specialist in childhood leukemia and lymphoma with particular interests in supportive care, treatment-related toxicity, and novel therapeutics for de novo and relapsed disease. He is additionally engaged in clinical research with active projects involving personalized approaches to chemotherapy, sedation for intrathecal chemotherapy administration, and pre-emptive pharmacogenomic applications. Outside of the hospital, he is an active musician, cyclist, backpacker, and gardener.
Monica Olsen, PT, DPT is a Physical Therapist at Children's Minnesota. She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, and has worked at Children's Minnesota in both inpatient and outpatient pediatric oncology since 2019. She works on the clinical research team investigating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in young children. She also co-authored an invited manuscript on The Concerns With Falling in the pediatric oncology population for the Journal of Rehabilitation Oncology.
Leah Podergois, CCC-SLP, is an acute care inpatient Speech-Language Pathologist at Children’s Minnesota. She earned her B.S. in Speech Language Pathology at Marquette University and her M.A. at the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. She has worked at Children’s Minnesota for 4 years with focus towards feeding/dysphagia and cognitive communication for oncology and other acute care populations.

Accreditation Statement:
In support of improving patient care, Children’s Minnesota is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Children’s Minnesota takes responsibility for the content, quality and scientific interest of its accredited continuing education events.
Credit Statement:
AMA
Children’s Minnesota designates this live activity for a maximum of 13.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent to their participation in the activity.
ANCC
Children’s Minnesota designates this live activity for a maximum of 13.00 ANCC credit hours. Nurses should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent to their participation in the activity.
This program offers 13.0 contact hours of continuing education. Most medical professional organizations accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. It is the individual’s responsibility to determine whether an education activity meets the continuing education requirements of their respective licensures and/or professional boards. Go to your respective organization’s website for more detailed information regarding credit requirements.
Minnesota Board of Physical Therapy
This program has been submitted to the MN Board of PT for approval.
Available Credit
- 13.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
- 13.00 ANCC
- 13.00 Attendance
- 13.00 Approved AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Price
Do you live outside of the U.S. or currently a student?
We encourage participation from our colleagues around the world. Our registration fees are based on country of residence. Please refer to the current World Bank classification link below, as discounted rates are available for participants residing in countries of the low and middle-income categories. In addition, we encourage students to attend at a discounted rate.
World Bank Country Classification
If you are eligible for a discounted rate, please email Children’s MN at [email protected] for further qualification criteria and discount code.
If you have questions about course content, please contact [email protected].
If you have questions about education credits, please contact [email protected].
SAVE $50 NOW through DECEMBER 15, 2025 BY ENTERING THE COUPON CODE: EARLYBIRD AT CHECKOUT
REGISTRATION CLOSES January 23, 2026
If you are an international participant and experiencing issues with credit card processing, please email [email protected] and we will assist.
Required Hardware/software
A computer of iPad with internet/Wi-Fi access.

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