Cancer survivorship is defined as beginning at the time of the initial diagnosis until the end of life. Once diagnosed, a cancer patient is clearly on a lifelong journey.
The journey begins with the shock of the diagnosis of cancer followed by days, weeks, months, and even years of various types of therapies. The cancer journey will likely involve therapies including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, physical therapy, and additional adjunctive therapies. Along this journey patients interact with multiple healthcare providers and other needed individuals.
One of the least emphasized aspects of the cancer patient’s journey is the importance of the need for physical exercise. The science that has developed around this need is called “Exercise Oncology”. Over the past 35 years there have been in excess of 2,600 prospective clinical trials in the field of Exercise Oncology. These clinical trials have resulted in over 5,000 publications on the benefits of exercise for cancer patients at the time of diagnosis, during active therapy, and in long-term survivorship. Cancer patients who exercise regularly along their journey experience enormous benefits. These benefits include an improved quality of life, maintaining strength and flexibility, less depression and anxiety, and with several cancers is improved survival. One of the biggest benefits of ongoing regular exercise is a lowering of “all-cause mortality”, which is dying from things other than the original cancer.
There are two fundamental phases of Exercise Oncology Programs. The first phase is the “medical center phase” where the Exercise Oncology Programs are provided at or near a medical center. The second, longer-term phase, is the “community phase”, that can be provided at community fitness centers.
Here is a link to such a community-based program in Idaho (https://www.eastidahonews.com/2025/01/cut-cancer-recurrence-risk-by-48-with-exercise/). This is an excellent example of what a community-based ExerciseOncology Program can look like. Embedded in the article Is a link to the short documentary film entitled “Moving Through Cancer”. This short documentary film is also posted on our website (https://cancerfitness.org/videos/).
Remember to “enhance your life’s vitality throughout your cancer journey and beyond…… with exercise”!
