Hard cider will be flowing, live music playing, and local health care professionals will be avowing the benefits an active lifestyle can have on those affected by cancer – all during “Press On: Moving Lives Through Cancer,” a fundraising and outreach event hosted by area physical therapists.
To be held on Saturday, Oct. 10, 3 to 9 p.m. at Atlas Cider Company (550 SW Industrial Way) in Bend, Press On invites the public to celebrate cancer survivorship with music, food and drink while learning about the roles physical therapy and exercise can play in the lives of cancer survivors and those diagnosed with the disease. Physical therapists, health care professionals, and exercise and rehab-related exhibitors will be on hand to spotlight this point through information and demonstrations.
“Physical therapy and exercise play critical roles in improving a person’s quality of life during and after cancer diagnosis and treatment,” said Meredith Wampler-Kuhn, PT, DPTSc, a Bend-based physical therapist who specializes in oncology rehabilitation and lead organizer of the Press On event. “Being that it’s National Physical Therapy Month, we wanted to celebrate this in a meaningful way.”
Multiple medical studies have supported this idea. Along with helping cancer patients maintain strength, decrease fatigue, minimize pain and maximize function and mobility, physical therapists play a critical role in identifying possible complications during and after treatment. But there’s more, says Wampler-Kuhn.
“Beyond the physical benefits, physical therapy is a great way for people to feel in control of restoring their bodies during and after cancer treatment through exercise and good health practices,” she said.
Free to attend, all funds raised through sponsorship and in-kind donations from clinics, health care providers and exhibitors during Press On will be donated to St. Charles Cancer Survivorship Programs, which provide a number of free services for cancer patients and survivors throughout Central Oregon. In addition, Atlas Cider will be selling a specially labeled batch of hard cider during the event, the proceeds of which will also be donated to these efforts.
Press On: Moving Lives Through Cancer is Central Oregon’s contribution to PT Untapped, a national event challenging physical therapists across the country (and beyond) to give back to their communities during the weekend of Friday-Sunday, Oct. 9-11. In 2015, the inaugural year for the event, groups of physical therapist in 46 cities are participating from coast to coast – even in two cities outside the U.S.
PT Untapped is an extension of PT Pub Night, a Bend-based movement founded in 2013 by Tannus Quatre, PT, owner of Vantage Clinical Solutions in Bend. As part of its mission – to facilitate relationships that improve the physical therapy profession – PT pub Night has helped organize more than 800 events in 240-plus cities across the U.S. and in eight foreign countries.
“Since we have the attention of so many physical therapists and PT students all over the country, we thought we’d up the ante a bit, and that’s what PT Untapped is all about,” said Quatre, who’s helping to organize Press On. “Since this is a national effort, we wanted to represent Central Oregon well, and Press On will certainly do that in a way that involves the whole community.”
Press On was made possible thanks to the generosity of a number of local sponsors, including Atlas Cider Company, Therapeutic Associates, The Bulletin, Cascade Business News, and Press Pros Printing Company.