Historically, cancer treatments have revolved around surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other such modalities . Often these treatments lead to physical debilitation such as significant fatigue, depression, anxiety, muscle weakness, loss of range of motion, and a decrease in cardiovascular reserve.
Over the past 35 years there have been ongoing clinical trials studying the impact of moderate aerobic exercise and resistance training on improving the clinical outcomes of cancer patients. Most of these clinical trials have been conducted by PhD researchers in the fields of Exercise Physiology, Kinesiology, Sports Medicine, and Immunology. Virtually all the publications on the outcomes from these clinical trials have been published primarily in the PhD researcher’s literature and not in the medical or oncology literature. This has resulted in a lack of knowledge of these clinical trials by most medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and other oncology providers.
Fortunately, the lack of education on the part of cancer providers is changing. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recently issued guidelines recommending that cancer patients being treated for cure should be referred for exercise programs to mitigate the side effects of their cancer treatments. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has established guidelines on exercise during long-term survivorship which more and more cancer programs are referencing.
The creation of Cancer Fitness is an effort to educate cancer patients and cancer healthcare providers about the importance of exercise in prehabilitation, during active treatment, and in long-term survivorship. There is real momentum going on in the United States and globally to recognize the importance of exercise as “medicine” for all cancer patients.
Here is a link to a recently published article on “Enhancing Caner Treatment: The Growth of Exercise in Oncology to Improve Patient Treatment” written by Emilia Lujan from MBNews: https://www.mbp.marketing/post/enhancing-cancer-treatment-the-growth-of-exercise-in-oncology-to-improve-patient-treatment
The article provides a history of the evolution of the world of “Exercise Oncology”. It discusses what Exercise Oncology is, bridging the gap between research and practice, the science behind exercise and cancer treatment, the barriers to adoption of exercise as a standard of adjunctive care for all cancer patients, and what’s next in the future of Exercise Oncology Programs.
I want to thank Emilia Lujan and MBNews for creating this excellent overview discussion on the importance of exercise for all cancer patients.
