At the ACRM Annual Conference in 2013, the Cancer Rehabilitation Networking Group (CRNG) was recognized by the ACRM Board of Governors. The CRNG is comprised of interdisciplinary professionals who desire to improve the educational and networking opportunities for ACRM membership in cancer rehabilitation research, education, clinical care, and policy in order to improve the lives of people who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Work of the CRNG is carried out by various task forces, which promote cutting-edge research, establish standards of care in cancer rehabilitation, and offer an interdisciplinary forum for development of state-of-the-art rehabilitation practice. CRNG task forces include the Education Task Force and the Outcomes & Research Task Force.

The mission of the ACRM CRNG is to advance the field of cancer rehabilitation by providing opportunities for educational and professional development, advocating for standards in clinical practice and research, and supporting a forum for interdisciplinary and international exchange.

The CRNG Executive Committee and Task Force Chairs as well as many of the CRNG members attended a ground-breaking cancer rehabilitation conference on 8-9 June 2015, hosted by the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and co-sponsored by the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The focus of the conference was the dissemination of findings from subject-matter expert workgroups in: Models of care delivery in cancer rehabilitation; Screening for toxicity; Functional outcomes measures; and Integration of rehabilitation into the cancer continuum.

The groups are interdisciplinary and comprised of internal NIH staff as well as 15 external clinicians and researchers from around the country. The workgroups have been charged to consider not just evidence from the literature, but to include experience-based findings from colleagues/systems of care etc. Each group presented their findings of the ‘current state,’ identified areas where there may be consensus, and identified gaps in research and needs for the future.

At the upcoming ACRM Annual Conference in October 2015 in Dallas, TX, the CRNG will have a continuous track for educational sessions. On behalf of co-chairs, Drs. Julie Silver and Vish Raj, we look forward to seeing you there! If you would like to get involved with the CRNG, please register to join. There is NO fee to join the listserv for the CRNG!!