Exercise Prescription for Cancer Patients

Introduction

Increasing survival rates for many types of cancer signal an increasing need for disease management interventions tailored to the specific needs of cancer patients at various stages of the disease process, including a) newly diagnosed; b) in treatment; and c) post-treatment. An integrative disease management intervention with a 'Mind/Body' perspective is presented, emphasizing the psychological and physical needs of patients receiving treatment for this diversified, often aggressive and highly stressful disease.

Only recently have the effects of exercise on individuals diagnosed with cancer been studied systematically, and consequently the development and use of exercise prescriptions are at only an embryonic stage of development. The status of cancer may be likened to that of congestive heart failure 20 years ago - a challenging, frequently terminal disease accorded a poor prognosis and treated primarily with palliative techniques. It is interesting to note in this context that while the most recent American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Clinical Certification Review for Exercise Specialists and Program Directors (3) discusses many systemic illnesses (including coronary heart disease (CHD), dementia, diabetes, kidney disease, and obesity), cancer is completely omitted.

Of particular significance for the exercise physiologist working with persons with cancer is the importance of an integrative disease management approach with a 'Mind/Body' perspective. The position is adopted in this paper that, depending on whether an individual is newly diagnosed, is currently receiving treatment; or is in a long- or short-term survival phase, disease management should consider a wide range of interventions ranging from those with a predominantly psychological impact (for example, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation), to more traditional exercise modalities (walking, jogging) involving progression to increased intensities. And although psychologically-oriented interventions may appear especially helpful for severely deconditioned patients receiving palliative, rather than rehabilitation-oriented care, their use as effective stress reduction techniques makes them potentially useful at virtually any stage of cancer.

Problem statement

Exercise is effective prescription for cancer patients. There is growing evidence that physical activity and exercise are effective adjuvant interventions for cancer and many other diseases, consistent with guidelines issued by the Surgeon General's office emphasizing the general health benefits of regular physical activity.

Data Sources

The study will be based on secondary data collection. The data will be extracted from various journals, articles and books. In secondary research data will be extracted from various journals, books and articles.

Qualitative research will be used for proposed study. Qualitative research is more subjective as compared to quantitative research and uses very different methods of collecting information which could be both primary and secondary. As already mentioned this study will choose the secondary method. The theme of this type of research will be investigative along with open-ended. This type of research is often less expensive than outlines and is extremely effective by acquiring information. It is often the method of choice in the examples where quantitative measurement is not required.

Annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of the research that has been done. It is still an alphabetical list of ...