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What happens when a PT becomes a patient after finding out he has a golf ball-sized brain tumor? In this episode Eric Anthony Galvez, DPT shared his story of diagnosis and rehabilitation from his brain tumor surgery. He talked about how the brain tumor impacted his personal and professional life, as well as, how being a physical therapist helped him navigate through his journey. He also described his advocacy for raising awareness about cancer in young adults, and his work with APTA Oncology and World Physiotherapy. Lastly, he shared the lessons he learn from his experience when the roles were reversed from being a PT to a patient, and how to thrive post-brain tumor.
Eric Anthony Galvez, PT, DPT is a physical therapist who was diagnosed with a golf-ball-sized brain tumor in 2005. A month later he underwent surgery to remove it. Now he's active in APTA Oncology and in IPT-HOPE or the International Physiotherapists for HIV/AIDS, Oncology, and Palliative care Empowerment. He also wrote two books about his journey first is entitled “Reversal: When A Therapist Becomes A Patient” and his latest book “Awakening: Becoming A Brain Tumor Thriver.” Without further ado, it's my pleasure to welcome Dr. Eric Galvez.
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Eric's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@ericgalvez
Eric's books:
---- HIGHLIGHTS -----
0:00 Introduction
2:36 Eric's story on discovering and diagnosing his brain tumor
7:17 Rehabilitation post-brain surgery
10:07 Being a PT did it help you in your recovery
11:16 Impact of the experience personally and professionally
14:01 How did the experience change his perceptions as a patient
16:35 Creating a nonprofit for young adults with cancer and survivors
19:14 work with APTA Oncology and IPT-HOPE
23:03 Lessons learned that other PTs can learn from
26:36 Lessons that can be shared with cancer survivors
27:21 What helped him in his recovery
30:43 About his books
34:55 Last bites
40:18 Takeaway
Author, Entrepreneur, Retired Physical Therapist
I can give you a shorter bio. Just pulled this off my website.
I’m just a short Filipino-American guy from Michigan. I was a nerd in High School. “A’s” filled my report cards and I still was into cartoons and science fiction. The only thing that kept me from getting picked on was the fact that I was good at sports. In high school, I was a First team, All-League defensive back in football, a 1991 Michigan State champion in wrestling, and a 4 year state qualifier in track. I was also an active member of the Student council and the National Honor Society.
In undergrad at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, I discovered beer, but somehow I was able to graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology. Along the way, I helped to establish the first Asian-American interest fraternity in the Midwest, was an officer in both the Filipino American Student Association and the Asian American Association, and joined an a capella group, 58 Greene, with no musical experience (it helped that one of my good friends was the director and that a lot of my friends were already in the group). After undergrad, I worked for 2 years as a Physical Therapy Aide on the rehab unit at the University of Michigan Medical Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. I saw some pretty amazing stuff there. I really enjoyed helping people get better. After working there, I knew I was going to be a physical therapist.
I then moved to LA to go to school full time and improve my GPA before applying to grad schools. After a year in California, I moved back to … Read More
