Background: At the Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre (MCTC), patients at any stage of their cancer diagnosis can be referred by their oncologist to ‘Active Survivor’, a best practice exercise program delivered at MCTC and/or an external exercise physiology provider (Health Solutions).
Methods: All participants complete a comprehensive review and assessment and then receive a 16-week individualized exercise program consisting of two supervised group-based sessions per week led by an exercise physiologist and two prescribed home-based sessions per week performed without supervision. The exercise program includes resistance/plyometric, aerobic and flexibility exercises. Assessments measured before and after the 16-week program include dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, 6 Minute Walk (6MW), 60s Sit-to-Stand (STS), Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) and the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS).
Results: Forty-five patients aged 29 to 77 years have been recruited to date. Most are women (84%) with a diagnosis of breast cancer (62%), while the remainder have been diagnosed with prostate, gynecological or lower gastrointestinal cancers. Primary treatments have included surgery (91%), radiation (77%), chemotherapy (68%) and endocrine therapy (62%). To date, 18 patients (age: 58±11y; 88% women, 61% breast cancer; BMI: 30.5±5.08 kg/m2) have completed baseline and follow-up assessments. These participants attended 92±6% of supervised exercise sessions. Paired Student’s t-test (one-tailed) demonstrate a trend toward improved waist circumference (104.8±11.6cm to 102.5±12.1cm; p=0.06) while significant improvements were noted in body fat percentage (46.5 ± 7.1% to 45.4±7.7%; p=0.03), appendicular muscle mass (17.2±3.3 to 18.1±4.0 (kg; p=0.03), lean body mass (41.0±6.29kg to 42.9±7.8kg; p=0.02), 6MW (491±61m to 548±89; p=0.001), STS (29±6 to 41±12; p<0.001), BFI (5.0±2.2 to 2.8±2.4; p=0.002) and QOLS (85±14 to 91±16; p=0.03).
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that cancer patients can significantly improve body composition, physical functioning, fatigue and quality of life through a 16-week exercise program embedded as best practice at the MCTC.