By Katarina Fiorentino Klatzkow
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a million people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the United States alone. At the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, a generous donation is funding new programs dedicated to supporting patients with cancer and their families, as well as providing important educational experiences for students.
Ron and Dianne Farb, longtime friends of the college and founders of the Climb for Cancer Foundation, donated $26,500 to support these novel initiatives.
“My husband and I never considered the occupational, speech, language and hearing issues cancer patients faced until we met with Dean Beth Virnig,” Dianne Farb said. “This meeting opened our eyes to how cancer patients’ quality of life is impacted in these areas. Since the Climb for Cancer Foundation seeks to fund underserved needs and improve the quality of life for cancer patients, it was a perfect fit.”
The Climb for Cancer Foundation gift will fund a palliative care program in the department of speech, language, and hearing sciences and the distribution of adaptive equipment and other devices for patients with cancer by the department of occupational therapy. The gift also supports projects related to cancer research conducted by doctoral students across disciplines in the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
“Funding graduate student projects for cancer patients will result in better-trained students in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy, clinical psychology and audiology,” Dianne Farb said. “This, in turn, will lead to better outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients.”
With support from the Climb for Cancer Foundation gift, the department of speech, language, and hearing sciences plans to develop a program that will include a mobile clinic to address palliative care, cleft palate/craniofacial care and other disorders. The enhanced services would offer greater monitoring of general development in children while also addressing common issues related to speech, language, swallowing and hearing among adults. Students in the master’s in communication sciences and disorders and the doctorate in audiology programs will provide patient care services under faculty supervision.
“We believe the funds provided to the speech, language, swallowing and hearing palliative care program will improve the lives of cancer patients who face impairments resulting from surgical interventions and central nervous system targeted chemotherapy,” Dianne Farb said. “Likewise with the funding of occupational therapy support for cancer patients, there will be funds for driver evaluations and the purchase of durable medical equipment.”
In the department of occupational therapy, the funding is being used to provide clothing and adaptive equipment to individuals with cancer diagnoses who are experiencing a change in their level of independence or ability to engage in activities of daily living. These items may include tub transfer benches, organization caddies for medical equipment, fine motor adaptive equipment and shower chairs.
“Our occupational therapy students are learning that cancer does not look the same for each person,” said Anna Galloway, P-O.T.D., OTR/L., a clinical assistant professor in the department of occupational therapy and faculty coordinator for the OT Equal Access Clinic, or EAC. “The context of each individual client greatly impacts what care, equipment and strategies would be most beneficial to increase their participation in daily life.”
The OT EAC board, led by students in the UF Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, manages the purchase and distribution of adaptive equipment to community partners who provide care for patients with cancer. Zoe Reyes, O.T.D., a 2024 PHHP graduate, helped to create and facilitate a referral process from the outpatient neuro-oncology clinic to outpatient occupational therapy services as part of her final capstone project.
Additionally, the grant has enabled the department to sponsor driving evaluations and interventions through UF SmartDriver Rehab for individuals with residual cancer diagnoses, including memory issues like “chemo brain,” amputations and other physiological changes as a result of cancer.
“We are excited about the opportunity to distribute needed equipment, clothing and other strategies to our community to hopefully improve the quality of life of those who need additional support, and we are looking forward to connecting with community partners to ensure we are meeting the needs of individuals and families currently managing cancer diagnoses,” Galloway said.