Author :
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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (936 download)
Book Synopsis An Exploration of Physical Activity in Cancer Survivorship by :
Download or read book An Exploration of Physical Activity in Cancer Survivorship written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quality research has been done to further our understanding of the role of physical activity (PA) as a potential therapeutic modality to improve health outcomes of cancer survivors. Yet, there are gaps in our understanding that need to be addressed. As such, the aims of the three distinct studies making up this dissertation project were: 1) to cross-sectionally explore PA behaviors and their relationship to health-related quality of life (HQOL) in a sample of Native American cancer survivors (NACS), 2) to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the feasibility, safety and role of an exercise intervention in improving both prognostic biomarkers and HQOL in a sample of lung cancer survivors, and 3) to utilize a RCT to evaluate the feasibility and role of an exercise intervention to improve the HQOL of informal caregivers of lung cancer survivors. In regards to our first study, our findings suggest that a majority of NACS meet PA recommendations, though this may be the result of over-reporting, and that meeting these recommendations is associated with better physical function in this sample, but of no other HQOL constructs. Our second study found that, while recruitment was challenging, for lung cancer survivors that were interested in and well enough to participate, exercise training appears to be safe and feasible. The majority of our sample was compliant with the intervention and met PA recommendations through a combination of in-clinic and at-home exercise, though our small sample size did not allow for a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of this intervention as it relates to markers of prognosis and HQOL. Due to the challenges associated with recruiting lung cancer patients to participate in the second study, the sample size in our third study was also quite low, hindering our ability to examine exercise effects on HQOL and exercise capacity. Despite that, the exercise group was able to meet current PA recommendations. When considering this work collectively, this project adds weight to the literature suggesting that moderate-intensity exercise is both feasible and safe in cancer survivors.