Blog

A small recap of our first half of 2022 as a research group. Pictures inside!

Biomarkers. What are they? How can we measure them? How can we apply them in pain research? What's the catch?

Lymphoedema occurs in about 16 per cent of people after breast cancer. According to the recommendations of the International Society of Lymphology (ISL), lymphoedema needs to be treated with decongestive lymphatic therapy (DLT), which consists of skin care, manual lymph drainage (MLD), compression therapy and exercise therapy. However, the value of the MLD as a component in this regimen is uncertain.

Midline oedema is defined as lymphoedema of the face, head and neck, breast, torso and genitalia which is a reported side-effect of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). This blogpost will further discuss the cause, prevalence and assessment of midline oedema in light of my doctorate project.

A summary blogpost of the 12th Congress of the European Pain Federation EFIC.

Maybe you have heard this saying before: ‘movement is medicine’. But is this true? Read about it here!

This blogpost is in Dutch and directed to Dutch speaking people who might be interested in participating in clinical research.

This blogposts discusses changes in scapular kinematics in breast cancer survivors

Blogpost about the impact of Covid-19 on the care and quality of life of patients with lymphedema.

This blogpost is about the complexity of pain in general and how we should navigate through this complexity.

A blog on how empathy can help in cancer care

This blogpost is about behavior and change of behavior in cancer survivors. What are the facilitators and barriors for cancer survivors to start physical activity? How can we improve behavior change in this population?

Last years, lipoedema has become a highly discussed topic worldwide. In 2018 and 2019, a group of lympology experts from seven European countries (members of the International Lipoedema Forum) discussed a consensus regarding (myths about) the pathophysiology of lipoedema. This resulted in the publication of the International Lipoedema Consensus Document in 2020. Read more about lipoedema in this blog!

Shout out to the LE&RN symposium series about how science has changed patient care in primary lymphedema.

5 do's and dont's for clinicians managing persistent pain in cancer survivors

Pain Science Education after breast cancer surgery by Dr. Lore Dams

Kinesitherapeuten gezocht voor een studie over de noden in de transmurale zorg bij de begeleiding van patiënten met borstkanker die antihormoontherapie nemen.

There is growing evidence on the meaning and interpretation of pain are influenced by the culture. This blogpost summarizes the culture-related differences in pain cognitions. In addition it provides information on how Pain Neuroscience Education can be adapted to non-Western populations in order to improve its delivery and its effectiveness.

Elien defended her PhD on 'pain education after breast cancer surgery' on 22/9/2021

This blogpost covers the current state of affairs and future prospects of reconstructive lymphatic surgery. Starting October 2021 the SurLym trail will set of to investigate the added value of reconstructive lymphatic surgery in a multicenter randomized controlled setting.

Development and validation of the International Compression Club compression questionnaire (ICC-CQ) for evaluating the effect of compression and its acceptance by the patient

10 do's and don'ts for cancer survivors suffering from persistent pain (infographic)

Reflections on a recent study results regarding pain beliefs and upper limb dysfunctions in the long term after surgery for breast cancer.

Parttime scientific research assistant for an FWO research project: Improving clinical screening, diagnostic and evaluation tools for lower limb lymphedema at the KU Leuven (in cooperation with Nij Smellinghe Hospital, The Netherlands)

PhD research for the research project 'Identifying biomarkers for chronic pain after breast cancer treatment' at the University of Antwerp

PhD researcher for the project 'Identifying prognostic variables for persistent UPper LImb dysFuncTions after Breast Cancer treatment: body functions, personal and environmental factors according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disease and Health (ICF)' -at the KU Leuven and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

2020 was the year we were forced to go digital. Time to look at the possibilities of a digital healthcare landscape.

This blogpost provides a short overview on self-efficacy in cancer survivors.

Report on the 2nd International Conference on Physical Therapy in Oncology

CarEdOn is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in brain imaging

Which signs and symptoms are related to secondary upper limb lymphedema?

A little history on how CarEdOn came to be.