Feasibility of the “Take Action” Cognitive-Functional Program During Active Chemotherapy in Women With Breast Cancer

Danit Langer; Stav Hillel; Asnat Bar-Haim Erez

doi:10.1177/15394492261466170

Feasibility of the “Take Action” Cognitive-Functional Program During Active Chemotherapy in Women With Breast Cancer

Danit Langer^*
, Stav Hillel
, Asnat Bar-Haim Erez

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Occupational Therapy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Women with breast cancer experience treatment-related side effects, including cognitive impairment, that adversely affect functioning and quality of life. Despite growing recognition of cancer-related cognitive impairment, few studies have examined rehabilitation during active oncological treatment. This study examined the feasibility of the Take Action (TA) cognitive-functional occupational therapy program during chemotherapy among seven women. Feasibility indicators, perceived cognitive function, daily functioning, and well-being were assessed at three time points. The TA program comprised seven individualized sessions focused on executive-function strategies to support self-management and participation in meaningful activities. Findings showed that the TA program was not feasible during chemotherapy due to technical constraints, scheduling difficulties, and treatment side effects, in both individual and group formats. However, when delivered individually during the transition toward survivorship, participants reported improved use of cognitive strategies and re-engagement in meaningful occupations. These results highlight the need for tailored occupational therapy interventions across the cancer continuum.

Original language	English
Journal	OTJR Occupation, Participation and Health
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492261466170
State	Accepted/In press - 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

breast cancer
cancer-related cognitive impairment
chemotherapy
cognitive-functional intervention
feasibility study

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10.1177/15394492261466170

Cite this

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title = "Feasibility of the {\textquotedblleft}Take Action{\textquotedblright} Cognitive-Functional Program During Active Chemotherapy in Women With Breast Cancer",

abstract = "Women with breast cancer experience treatment-related side effects, including cognitive impairment, that adversely affect functioning and quality of life. Despite growing recognition of cancer-related cognitive impairment, few studies have examined rehabilitation during active oncological treatment. This study examined the feasibility of the Take Action (TA) cognitive-functional occupational therapy program during chemotherapy among seven women. Feasibility indicators, perceived cognitive function, daily functioning, and well-being were assessed at three time points. The TA program comprised seven individualized sessions focused on executive-function strategies to support self-management and participation in meaningful activities. Findings showed that the TA program was not feasible during chemotherapy due to technical constraints, scheduling difficulties, and treatment side effects, in both individual and group formats. However, when delivered individually during the transition toward survivorship, participants reported improved use of cognitive strategies and re-engagement in meaningful occupations. These results highlight the need for tailored occupational therapy interventions across the cancer continuum.",

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author = "Danit Langer and Stav Hillel and \{Bar-Haim Erez\}, Asnat",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).",

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AB - Women with breast cancer experience treatment-related side effects, including cognitive impairment, that adversely affect functioning and quality of life. Despite growing recognition of cancer-related cognitive impairment, few studies have examined rehabilitation during active oncological treatment. This study examined the feasibility of the Take Action (TA) cognitive-functional occupational therapy program during chemotherapy among seven women. Feasibility indicators, perceived cognitive function, daily functioning, and well-being were assessed at three time points. The TA program comprised seven individualized sessions focused on executive-function strategies to support self-management and participation in meaningful activities. Findings showed that the TA program was not feasible during chemotherapy due to technical constraints, scheduling difficulties, and treatment side effects, in both individual and group formats. However, when delivered individually during the transition toward survivorship, participants reported improved use of cognitive strategies and re-engagement in meaningful occupations. These results highlight the need for tailored occupational therapy interventions across the cancer continuum.

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Feasibility of the “Take Action” Cognitive-Functional Program During Active Chemotherapy in Women With Breast Cancer

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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