EXERCISE IMPROVES CANCER TREATMENT-RELATED FATIGUE
Patients suffering from
cancer treatment-related fatigue, up to 15 years following treatment, can
benefit from a prescribed exercise regimen; results being presented at a
meeting on exercise and physiology by international scientists during
Olympics
Portland, ME—Cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation,
and surgery, can leave cancer patients with debilitating fatigue. That
fatigue may accompany not only the treatment, but may also last long after
the treatment has been completed. A prescribed exercise regimen can help
overcome, manage, or reduce fatigue after, or even during, chemotherapy and
radiation, says Carolyn Dennehy, Ph.D.
Dr. Dennehy, Associate Professor in the School of
Kinesiology at the University of Northern Colorado, and Director of the
Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Institute, will present study findings
on the benefits of exercise for cancer patients at the 2000 American
Physiological Society (APS) Intersociety Meeting: The Integrative Biology of
Exercise, being held September 20-23, 2000 in Portland, Maine.
Background: Seventy-two to 95 percent of
all cancer patients who undergo therapies—including surgery, chemotherapy,
radiation, stem cell transplants, etc.—experience some degree of fatigue.
Symptoms of this fatigue include decline in functioning when it comes to
performing normal day-to-day activities, muscular weakness, and general
fatigue.
Dr. Dennehy and her colleagues at the four-year-old
Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Institute have worked with more than
250 patients from the age of 18 and up, who have suffered—or are currently
suffering—from cancer, and who have undergone—or are currently
undergoing—cancer treatment.
Exercise has long been known to improve the quality of
physiological responses in healthy individuals. Dr. Dennehy, an exercise
physiologist, wanted to find out if a prescribed exercise program could have
the same results in cancer patients.
Patients who come to the Institute (all of whom are
referred by area oncologists) undergo a complete physical assessment and a
battery of health fitness screenings. A physician interprets the
information, including the patient's cancer history and current health
status. An individually tailored exercise program, which includes aerobic as
well as strength training, is developed for each patient and prescribed for
a minimum of 24 weeks.
Methodology: Twenty-five patients (12 of
whom were evaluated but did not participate in an exercise program and acted
as a control group, and 13 of whom actually participated in the exercise
regimen) were assessed in terms of their cardiovascular endurance; muscular
strength; muscular endurance; pulmonary function; flexibility; and
self-reporting fatigue perception (to determine whether their fatigue was
more psychological or physiological in nature).
Results: The 13 patients who completed
the 24-week exercise program showed a significant improvement in resting
heart rate, length of time they were able to work out on a treadmill, and
predicted maximum aerobic capacity (oxygen consumption). Their ability to
perform arm curls, modified push-ups, and sit-ups also improved, as did
their pulmonary function and flexibility. Compared to the control group, the
exercise group showed a decrease in resting heart rate (13.8%), improvements
in treadmill time (12.7%), VO2
max (2.6%), push-ups (61.1%), arm curls (52.7%), sit-ups (81.1%), FVC
(15.44%), flexibility (14.3%), and fatigue perception (5%).
Conclusions: Dr. Dennehy's research
concluded that exercise does indeed have a positive effect on cancer
treatment-related fatigue and can improve a patient's declining
physiological functions.
These findings can have broad implications for the
increasing numbers of cancer patients who are not only living longer with
the disease, but who are also being cured of the disease altogether. Because
fatigue can remain long after cancer treatment has been discontinued,
quality of life issues become a concern. A prescribed exercise regimen can
help cancer patients, and survivors, regain at least some of their
pre-cancer energy.
***
Physiology research in exercise has
been responsible for demonstrating that women are physiologically capable of
running the marathon without the event being detrimental to their health and
well being; the necessity of competing in a hydrated state, seeking frequent
fluid replacement during endurance events; being acclimatized to heat before
competition; scheduling competition in the early or late hours of the day;
and providing fluids that contain a fixed concentration of glucose during
the long distance events; the advantages to athletes -- particularly
swimmers -- of tapering in their training before competition; the importance
of the specificity concept in athletic training schedules and the acceptance
by coaches of team sports that specific power and strength training
principles must be followed to enhance performance. The American
Physiological Society is devoted to fostering scientific research,
education, and the dissemination of scientific information. By providing a
spectrum of physiological information, the Society plays a significant role
in the progress of science and the advancement of knowledge.
Editor's Note: For further
information or to schedule an interview, contact Donna Krupa at
703.527.7357; cell: 703.967.2751; or at
djkrupa1@aol.com; or visit the APS website at
www.the-aps.org.
