Background: Inova’s Peterson Life with Cancer (PLWC) is a nationally recognized supportive care program providing free psychosocial, integrative medicine, and educational services to individuals with cancer and their families across Northern Virginia, USA. Embedded within this model is an exercise oncology program delivering no-cost, community-based movement and fitness classes. The...
Introduction:
STEPs (Supporting cancer Treatment with Exercise Pathways) is a physical activity (PA) support programme for people who have, or have had, cancer. The aim of this study was to conduct a nominal group technique (NGT) to achieve consensus among key stakeholders regarding i) barriers to the integration of STEPs within usual cancer care in two Irish hospitals, and ii) solutions...
Purpose: This study examined the long-term effects of standard care lymphoedema treatment, delivered by cancer support centres in community-based settings, on quality of life and self-reported symptom severity among individuals with cancer-related lymphoedema.
Methods: A single-group, pre-post pragmatic study design was adopted. Survivors of cancer referred to community-based cancer...
Introduction
Cancer survivors experience physical and psychological effects from cancer treatments contributing to disability. These effects can be improved by exercise and/or cancer rehabilitation(CR). Guidelines recommend providers discuss exercise with patients and refer to appropriate programs; however, clinicians report barriers to referral and survivors are not connected to the required...
Introduction: Oncological Exercise therapy (OET) benefits oncology patients, highlighting the need for locally available programs delivered by qualified staff. In Germany, such training is mainly provided on-site, involving time and travel costs. The German Cancer Aid-funded IMPLEMENT project developed and evaluated an online training for exercise- and physiotherapists in oncology. This...
Introduction: Although exercise is increasingly recognized as safe and beneficial for patients with bone metastases, clinicians often remain hesitant to recommend it. However, the reasons behind this reluctance are not fully understood. This study explored healthcare professionals’ attitudes, knowledge, and perceived barriers regarding exercise in patients with bone metastases.
Methods: An...
The incidence of cancer in Kenya has risen significantly in the recent years to more than 44000 new cancer cases annually. [Globocan 2022]. However, there has been no corresponding improvement in infrastructure, human resources, diagnostics and treatments. The focus of current investments is on enabling access to surgery, chemo and radiotherapy with little attention to other interventions...
Cancer survivors often experience long-term treatment side effects that substantially diminish their functional capacity and quality of life (QoL). Among the wide range of symptoms reported, chronic fatigue and loss of physical function—particularly reduced cardiorespiratory fitness, flexibility, and muscle strength—emerged as the most debilitating. These symptoms vary widely across...
Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is among the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms across the cancer continuum. Exercise-based rehabilitation is an effective evidence-based intervention to reduce CRF and improve functional outcomes. However, translating this evidence into sustainable clinical programs remains a challenge.
Purpose: To describe a cancer rehabilitation model that...
Background:
Exercise is a key component of supportive cancer care; however, access to community-based structured exercise remains limited. This pilot study examined the feasibility and psycho-emotional effects of a supervised 7-week outdoor group-based exercise on cancer patients.
Methods:
Twenty adult cancer patients (95% female; mean age 51.3 ± 9.5 years; BMI 23.9 ± 2.7 kg/m²; breast,...
Background: Exercise is an important component of cancer care, yet physicians’ engagement in assessment, referral, and prescription varies widely. Understanding how physician characteristics influence these practices, and the barriers they report, is essential to improving exercise implementation in oncology.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians from 21...
Best practice cancer care supports exercise referrals for all cancer survivors, both during and after treatment. However, with the rapid rise in the number of cancer survivors, the current exercise workforce cannot provide this level of care. Further, although the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) calls for clinicians to include exercise referrals as standard practice in oncology...
Background: As evidence supporting exercise as a standard component of cancer care continues to strengthen, scalable and sustainable implementation models are urgently needed. Maple Tree Cancer Alliance (MTCA) has developed a comprehensive clinical-to-community exercise oncology framework with global reach, serving more than 20,000 patients across 100+ locations in the United States and 34...
INTRODUCTION:Physical exercise has been shown to attenuate cancer treatment–related side effects and improve quality of life in people with cancer. Based on this evidence, the Exercise Oncology Unit (EOU) of the Spanish Cancer Association (AECC) was created to facilitate the integration of structured exercise programs into routine cancer care.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility and...
Although substantial evidence underlines the benefits of physical activity (PA) and tailored exercise as a supportive strategy for cancer patients, exercise therapy is not yet part of standard oncology care. MOVE-ONKO aims to bridge this gap by implementing a multi-professional care pathway to promote needs-oriented exercise therapy for cancer patients in different oncological care settings....
Background: Access to integrative oncology support including exercise and complementary medicine is limited despite strong evidence supporting their benefits for cancer-related symptoms and survivorship outcomes. This case report describes the work of Moving Beyond Cancer Collaborative (MBCC), a community-based nonprofit in Central Texas, that provides exercise and other integrative...
Background: Despite robust evidence of exercise oncology safety and efficacy, patients widely struggle to adopt and maintain an active lifestyle. Current implementation of exercise interventions is often not systematic, sustainable, accessible, or supported organizationally or legislatively. Crucially, the most vulnerable patients, facing the greatest access barriers, receive few offers. The...
Physical activity (PA) is one of the most evidence-based supportive interventions in oncology, improving symptoms and in certain tumour entities even overall survival. Yet oncology day clinics lack a systematic approach to promoting it. Patients should be supported before, during and after therapy to integrate more PA into their daily lives. The "OnkoMoveNurse" concept offers oncology nurses a...
Background:There are calls for exercise to be integrated into routine cancer care. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) play a key role in promoting exercise. However, data on exercise during immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) immunotherapy is lacking, and HCP’s views on exercise within this setting are unknown. This study investigated the perceptions and practices of HCPs regarding exercise for...
Background
With advances in cancer treatments, more patients live longer with advanced stages of the disease, often facing complex symptom burdens and functional decline. Physiotherapy has emerged as a critical component of oncology care, supporting symptom relief, autonomy, and quality of life. Yet, its role in advanced cancer care remains under-recognised and inconsistently...
Background: Rural cancer survivors are less likely to meet physical activity (PA) recommendations than urban CS, contributing to differences in cancer survivorship. We used a community-engaged approach to adapt and evaluate an evidence-based intervention to increase PA and reduce psychosocial distress in rural breast cancer survivors (BCS).
Methods: Rural BCS (N=38) were interviewed to...
Purpose: Resistance exercise provides independent health benefits for breast cancer survivors, yet just 10.3% of Black survivors meet recommended guidelines (≥2 sessions/week). Theory-driven and culturally adapted narratives may enhance intervention uptake. This study aimed to refine six narratives featuring a Black breast cancer main character navigating cultural and cancer-related...
Category: Behavioral Science/Implementation
Background: Despite strong evidence for exercise in cancer care, routine implementation remains a challenge. Closing the research-to-practice gap requires a multifaceted approach across all levels of the healthcare system. One key priority is to ensure exercise services are affordable and sustainable, which need to be supported by...
