Contact: Donna Krupa703.527.73457Cell: 703.967.2751[email protected]
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 (Sept. 22, 2000) -- 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.
Carolyn Dennehy, Ph.D.
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 with Dr. Dennehy, contact Donna Krupa at 703.527.7357; cell: 703.967.2751; or at [email protected]; or visit the APS website at www.faseb.org/aps.
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