Faculty member Kimiko Yamada will be honored with an APTA Clinical Excellence in Oncologic Physical Therapy Award at this year’s CSM.

BY ANDREW FAUGHT

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CLINICL PHYSICAL THERAPY KIMIKO YAMADA DPT ’06 is receiving national recognition for her efforts to promote and advance physical therapy as a critical resource for cancer patients and survivors.

Yamada will receive an APTA Clinical Excellence in Oncologic Physical Therapy Award at this year’s APTA Combined Sections Meeting, taking place in mid-February. The honor recognizes her commitment to improving the lives of cancer survivors, while meeting standards of professionalism and compassion.

The award will help bring attention to a growing field, she says. In 2024, there were an estimated 2 million new cases of cancer in the United States, according to government statistics. Meanwhile, the five-year survival rates are on the rise with the advent of less invasive surgeries and radiation treatments, and more targeted chemotherapies. Innovative immunotherapies and stem cell transplants also are improving patient survival rates.

“I love giving inspiration to creatively help patients deal with their side effects, possibly even decrease the intensity of side effects, and recover more efficiently,” Yamada says. “I like to collaborate with my patients so that together we come up with the best plan. I seek information to create a large skillset to help my patients, but I also seek to keep learning from my them.”

In a nomination letter, Assistant Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy Minnie Jan wrote that Yamada “is truly a pioneer in the oncology field, collaborating with physician groups and challenging them to think of new opportunities to improve the lives of cancer patients.”

Another tool in the toolbox

While there is increasing attention paid to physical therapy’s ability to help manage side effects for common cancer treatments — such as lung and breast cancer treatment — Yamada has created rehabilitation protocols for innovative head and neck cancer surgeries. She’s also involved in research to establish the benefits of comprehensive lymphatic drainage programs before, during and after breast radiation.

Yamada has developed a “toolbox” of manual therapies and exercise to prescribe for cancer treatment-related fatigue, frailty, stiffness after radiation therapy, weakness after surgery, balance after chemotherapy, bone health after hormone therapy, and lymphedema after combinations of therapies.

USC’s Oncology PT Residency program

In 2023, USC launched its Oncology Physical Therapy Residency program, with Yamada at the helm. The residency was the nation’s seventh such program devoted to oncology physical therapy — there are now eight. At USC, two residents per year work in hospital and outpatient settings.

“I’d love to encourage more people to join our team, and one way is through our residency,” Yamada says. “I want to attract people who want to be part of a dynamic team, and who are driven toward a common goal of helping cancer survivors.”

Yamada, who has worked at USC for more than 18 years, continues to be inspired by the motivated and resilient cancer survivors around her, including former faculty member Marisa Perdomo, who is a survivor of cancer and a physical therapist.

Yamada collaborated with a strong team of oncology physical therapists within the Division to develop the residency.

“I had to seek education and training on my own,” Yamada reflects. “With the residency, I want to help PTs have easy access to multidisciplinary oncology experts and the information they need to be a good oncology PT.”