Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amanda Grilli. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Before becoming an oncology Physical Therapist, I worked as a surgical coordinator at a breast cancer clinic in Montreal, Canada. It was during my time there that I came to truly understand the extensive side effects associated with breast cancer and its treatments. I unfortunately witnessed many of my patients suffering from numerous cancer-related side effects and a loss of mobility, strength, and independence, all of which negatively impacted their quality of life, well-being, and overall function. Moved by their stories, I immediately returned to school to pursue another degree, a degree in Physical Therapy with a special focus in breast cancer rehabilitation.

Since then, as an oncology Physical Therapist, Certified Lymphedema Therapist, and Breast Cancer Coach, I have devoted my career to helping those affected by breast cancer to improve their quality of life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Over the past 10 years of working in breast cancer care, I have had the privilege of helping hundreds of patients through their breast cancer treatments and recovery. Using specialized hands-on techniques and targeted exercises, I have been able to help my patients minimize and/or overcome debilitating cancer-related side effects, such as pain, limited arm movement, chest tightness, Axillary Web Syndrome, fatigue, and neurological impairments. I have witnessed the joy and gratitude on my patients’ faces as they regain their strength, independence, and overall quality of life.

However, over the years I have also unfortunately seen how challenging it can be for those affected by breast cancer to access essential cancer care, such as breast cancer rehabilitation. The majority of people never receive the specialized rehabilitative care needed to truly recover from breast cancer treatments due to barriers such as income, insufficient insurance coverage, geographical location, limited awareness about the service, and discrimination based on race and age.

But why should one’s ability to pay or socioeconomic status dictate whether they should be able to live well during, after, and beyond breast cancer? It shouldn’t. Driven by the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to improve their physical, mental, and social well-being during and after breast cancer, I have devoted my career to making breast cancer rehabilitation accessible to everyone.

In hopes of addressing the geographical barrier to care, from 2016 to 2019, I spearheaded and introduced a multidisciplinary cancer rehabilitation program across 16 private Physical Therapy practices throughout the province of Quebec in Canada. In order to do so, I led the development of a comprehensive one-year cancer rehabilitation curriculum aimed at training physical therapists in the specialized care of cancer patients. The curriculum was designed to equip therapists with the necessary knowledge, skills, and hands-on techniques to treat cancer patients safely and effectively. Leveraging my experience and success in program development, in 2021, I successfully expanded the service offerings of two private Physical Therapy practices in New York, US, by introducing breast cancer rehabilitation and lymphedema therapy services.

In 2020, in hopes of further supporting the breast cancer community, providing evidence-based education, and improving awareness about breast cancer rehabilitation, I started my social media pages. Over the last 4 years, my social media pages have helped cancer patients and other healthcare providers to better understand and recognize cancer-related side effects, in addition to empowering them with effective strategies to address the side effects. To improve access and awareness to the specialized service, I have also taught oncology continuing education courses for physical and occupational therapists, and have given numerous workshops for the breast cancer community, empowering patients with knowledge and self-care strategies.

However, the work that I am most proud of is recently founding and launching Well Beyond Breast Cancer, one of the first 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of the breast cancer community through increased accessibility to breast cancer rehabilitation and lymphedema therapy. Our mission is to ensure that everyone, regardless of race, age, educational background, and income, has access to essential cancer care during and after breast cancer treatments.

Our Financial Assistance Program aims to alleviate the financial barrier to accessing breast cancer rehabilitation, by providing those affected by breast cancer and in need of financial support with no-cost appointments of breast cancer rehabilitation with a physical/occupational therapist in their local community. We are currently offering this program across numerous states in the US.

In addition to our Financial Assistance Program, we have numerous other initiatives and resources aimed at helping the breast cancer community to improve their physical, mental, and social well-being. Our long-term goal at Well Beyond Breast Cancer is to create an equitable healthcare landscape where all breast cancer patients have access to specialized rehabilitation services, ensuring that all survivors can improve their quality of life during, after, and well beyond breast cancer.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your firm or practice?

Since Well Beyond Breast Cancer is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we primarily rely on donations from the general public and grants from various organizations to fund our Financial Assistance Program and other resources provided directly to breast cancer patients and survivors.

Initially, upon launching, our funding came from the generous contributions of family and friends, helping us get one step closer to achieving our mission of improving the quality of life of those affected by breast cancer. Today, we hold various fundraising events to fund our programs and also improve awareness about breast cancer rehabilitation amongst the community. To learn more about our upcoming events or to get involved in our organization, please do not hesitate to visit our website below.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I don’t have a business partner for Well Beyond Breast Cancer; instead, I have an amazing team that makes up our board of directors. When founding the organization, I prioritized establishing a board that truly represents the population we aim to serve. Consequently, I assembled a board composed of individuals who are either directly affected by breast cancer or carry high-risk breast cancer gene mutations, who also personally faced challenges in accessing cancer care. In fact, most of our board of directors is composed of former patients of mine or colleagues specialized in the field, who share my passion and mission of making breast cancer rehabilitation accessible to everyone.

It was so important for me to surround myself with individuals who personally understood the barriers to cancer care, to ensure that our decision-making processes and the implementation of our programs and resources remain informed by a genuine understanding of the community’s challenges. My hope is that together we can better address the needs of those we serve and create effective solutions for improving access to breast cancer rehabilitation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wellbeyondbreastcancer.org, www.thepinkpros.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellbeyondbreastcancer/ https://www.instagram.com/thepinkpros/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-grilli-853472190/

Image Credits

Headshot – by Lisa Houlgrave

Image guiding participants through self lymphatic drainage massage – Camp Breasties 2024 by Sameer Khan

Image of Well Beyond Onco-Ballet Fundraiser – by Leda Costa van Putten