Many cancer survivors struggle to maintain an active lifestyle

“Those who cope best with cancer treatment are often those who had an active lifestyle before diagnosis. This reduces the risk of delayed injury and complications,” says Benedikte Western.

In his doctoral work, he examined 34 different studies, all of which included cancer patients participating in exercise programs. He noticed many common characteristics among those who started and left the studies. One of them was that they did not have an active lifestyle before getting cancer.

“The fact that those who completed the program were already leading active lives before their illness skews the results. After all, they are not the people this study aims to help,” says Western.

Typically, those who did not complete an exercise program after cancer treatment were overweight and less likely to formal education.

But some exercise programs had more interruptions than others, and people quit at different times. Some exercised regularly during treatment but stopped afterwards.

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‘It is not random who resigns’

“We need to keep that in mind when designing these studies. Who quits is not random, and in order for us to find effective solutions for everyone, we need to pay more attention to those who are more likely to quit,” says Western.

It’s naturally easier to stick with what’s available good habits rather than creating new ones. For most people, cancer treatment alone is challenging enough, and in some cases, the treatment itself can lead to functional impairments.

“A lot cancer survivors Struggle with fatigue and feeling like rest isn’t working. Sleep is often affected and some need to have a lot of tissue or skin removed. Hormonal levels may also be affected. Adding a lifestyle change to all of this can be difficult, but avoiding it isn’t going to make things better,” says Western.

permanent change

Adopting a more active lifestyle can be challenging and often depends on the individual. That’s why Western also researched what’s called ‘self-management skills’, the ability of cancer survivors to build a lasting life. lifestyle change.

“Changing people’s behavior is complex. So we need more information about what people need help with and what they believe they can handle on their own. Everyone’s background and starting points are unique; the important thing is to find out what contributes to lasting changes.” ” says Western.

He found that those who reported higher levels of physical activity were also more actively involved in life. They had hobbies and activities that they felt added value to their lives. They were also monitoring their health, had reasonable expectations for themselves, and had insight into what was affecting their health.

There is a high probability of getting cancer again

“The goal is to find out what features can help cancer survivors be more physically active. This is a big challenge that requires resources, staff, and different offerings for different people. Currently, support for cancer survivors is quite arbitrary,” Western says.

One risk that is often underreported is that cancer survivors are more likely to develop a different type of cancer. This may be due to: cancer treatment himself but it is also largely about his lifestyle. This makes efforts to encourage cancer survivors to be active even more important.

“Many people’s health suffers severely after surviving cancer. It’s not something you can just get over. That’s why it’s important to offer survivors a sustainable way to be physically active,” says Western.