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October 2007 Volume 1 #3
 Conference offers hope and optimism FISH and CHIPs and prostate cancer Surviving PCa: How exercise can help Reef Knot Award winners • SUBSCRIBE • contact the editor • visit the cpcn website |
Surviving prostate cancer: New evidence on how exercise can help  At the recent prostate cancer conference held in Toronto, Professor Kerry S. Courneya (PhD), Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Cancer at the University of Alberta, presented a fascinating and useful overview of research on physical activity in prostate cancer survivors. What were his conclusions? There is growing evidence that exercise enhances physical functioning, combats fatigue, and improves the quality of life in prostate cancer survivors receiving hormone therapy or radiation therapy.One Canadian randomized controlled trial examined the effects of resistance training on the quality of life, fatigue, and muscular strength of prostate cancer survivors who were receiving hormone therapy (androgen deprivation therapy). This trial, funded by the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Initiative, found that those who exercised showed significant gains in upper and lower body muscular strength and on measurements of their quality of life. Those who exercised also lowered their levels of fatigue. One piece of perhaps surprising good news: these improvements also held true for men in the exercise group who were receiving palliative hormone therapy. (Access the article "Resistance exercise in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer.") Another randomized controlled trial, this time from Scotland, looked at the effects of aerobic exercise on treatment-related fatigue in men receiving radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. What did researchers discover? "Men who followed advice to rest and take things easy if they became fatigued demonstrated a slight deterioration in physical functioning and a significant increase in fatigue at the end of radiotherapy. Home-based, moderate-intensity walking produced a significant improvement in physical functioning with no significant increase in fatigue." (Consult the article "A randomized, controlled trial of aerobic exercise for treatment-related fatigue in men receiving radical external beam radiotherapy for localized prostate carcinoma.") Another, even more recent randomized trial, one led by Roanne Segal of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, compared prostate cancer survivors who received resistance or aerobic exercise training while undergoing radiation therapy with those who did not. Again, results were positive for the men who exercised. Resistance exercise improved men's physical fitness and decreased symptoms of fatigue. Aerobic exercise had the beneficial effect of decreasing the men's body fat, and it exhibited trends toward reducing levels of fatigue. The conclusion: "Depending on patient needs, either form of exercise training could be an important part of supportive care for these patients." (Click here for more information about "Resistance or aerobic exercise in men receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer: A randomized trial.") Obviously, exercise appears to be an important aspect of controlling fatigue and contributing to the overall well-being and quality of life of prostate cancer survivors, especially when men are undergoing radiation and hormone therapy. But how much exercise is enough (and how much is too much)? Anna Schwartz, a frequent presenter of cancer nursing research who has an interest in cancer and exercise, offers this insight: "Patients tell me all the time the most important time for them to exercise is when they feel their worst, but it's a balancing act. If people feel worse when they exercise, they should rest. But if you keep saying I'm too tired to exercise today, and tomorrow, over time you start to get the debilitating effects of not using your body." Professor Courneya also recommends that men engage in what exercise is possible for them while, at the same time, listening to their bodies. For more concrete advice, he suggests that men consult a report that he helped to write: "Nutrition and physical activity during and after cancer treatment: An American Cancer Society guide for informed choices." For a condensed version of this report, visit the American Cancer Society website and go to "The complete guide: Nutrition and physical activity." |
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