from Medical News Today:
Climbing stairs, carrying groceries, taking a shower - these are
activities that we take for granted; however, after a cancer diagnosis,
many survivors are unable to function as they used to. Home-based diet
and exercise interventions may improve physical functioning in older,
long-term cancer survivors, according to data presented at the American
Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International
Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.
Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., professor of behavioral
science at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center,
focused this study on survivors older than 65 years old. She said this
age group often suffers long-term side effects of cancer and its
treatment which could threaten the ability to live independently.
"Younger cancer patients are usually able to bounce back, but older
patients may need a structured program to stop functional decline and
retain independence," said Demark-Wahnefried.
Those in the intervention group received tailored mailed print
materials on diet and exercise, a pedometer and exercise bands. For the
first three weeks, participants received weekly phone calls, which
tapered off to every two weeks and then once a month until the end of
the study.
At the end of one year, researchers evaluated physical
function, diet quality and physical activity using standard measures.
Participants in the intervention group demonstrated significant
improvements in their diet and exercise behaviors, and their weight
status. What's more, according to the SF-36 physical function test,
participants in the intervention group had a 2.5 point decline compared
with a 5.3 point decline in the control group. Similar differences were
seen in measures of basic lower extremity and advanced lower extremity
functioning. Overall, the magnitude of effect was similar to preventing
physical function losses comparable to that imposed by ischemic heart
disease.
Climbing stairs, carrying groceries, taking a shower - these are
activities that we take for granted; however, after a cancer diagnosis,
many survivors are unable to function as they used to. Home-based diet
and exercise interventions may improve physical functioning in older,
long-term cancer survivors, according to data presented at the American
Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International
Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.
Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, Ph.D., professor of behavioral
science at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center,
focused this study on survivors older than 65 years old. She said this
age group often suffers long-term side effects of cancer and its
treatment which could threaten the ability to live independently.
"Younger cancer patients are usually able to bounce back, but older
patients may need a structured program to stop functional decline and
retain independence," said Demark-Wahnefried.
Those in the intervention group received tailored mailed print
materials on diet and exercise, a pedometer and exercise bands. For the
first three weeks, participants received weekly phone calls, which
tapered off to every two weeks and then once a month until the end of
the study.
At the end of one year, researchers evaluated physical
function, diet quality and physical activity using standard measures.
Participants in the intervention group demonstrated significant
improvements in their diet and exercise behaviors, and their weight
status. What's more, according to the SF-36 physical function test,
participants in the intervention group had a 2.5 point decline compared
with a 5.3 point decline in the control group. Similar differences were
seen in measures of basic lower extremity and advanced lower extremity
functioning. Overall, the magnitude of effect was similar to preventing
physical function losses comparable to that imposed by ischemic heart
disease.
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