Moving Cancer Care

Every year over 70.000 people in Belgium are diagnosed with cancer. For most of these patients this means months of intensive treatments with several pesky side effects. Recent scientific literature states that physical activity during treatment is beneficial for cancer patients and therefore should be installed as part of ‘standard cancer care’-therapy. A physically active lifestyle has been proven to alleviate adverse side effects of (invasive) treatment and has a positive effect on physical and social functioning, quality of life, self-image, emotional wellbeing, sleep and tiredness, stress, anxiety and pain. Even more convincing is the fact that, besides medication induced (pharmacologic) therapy, physical activity is the most effective therapeutic intervention for cancer patients during treatment.

Therefore the traditional healthcare providers’ advice to rest during cancer treatment seems to be obsolete!

Despite the growing body of knowledge regarding physical activity as a standard cancer care-therapy, there is a distinct shortcoming in tailored incentives for people diagnosed with cancer:

• Exercise incentives/programs are usually started after all other therapy is completed, therefore potential health benefits during treatment are lost.
• Healthcare professionals do not always dispose of the necessary means (knowledge, skills, tools, …) to adequately inform the patient regarding a physically active lifestyle.
• Existing incentives/programs are often hospital-driven and have a rather small and specific (type of cancer) reach. Some of these incentives/programs are also purely generic (not tailored) and do not focus on a lasting behavioural change.
• Local exercise therapists or coaches are having difficulties to cater to the real needs of cancer patients due to a lack of information, experience and exercise guidelines or prescriptions.

By performing the ‘Moving Cancer Care’ project, researchers are trying to bridge the gap between patients, healthcare providers and exercise therapists to encourage and motivate cancer patients to undertake regular physical activity during their treatment and thereafter.

Through qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus groups the specific needs, expectations, barriers and motivators for each of the three different stakeholders are gathered. Subsequently, by comparing and analysing existing physical activity incentives/programs by means of the RE-AIM framework, critical success factors (and good practices) can be identified. Lastly, the researchers are aiming to develop a practice-based tool which stakeholders can use to implement new and effective physical activity interventions for cancer patients.