Psychological Readiness for Surgery Through Prehabilitation and Treatment: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Psychological prehabilitation aims to prepare patients for cancer treatment, yet psychological readiness is under-specified and distress during and after treatment is common. A patient-informed account of readiness is needed to guide readiness-focused, proactive psychological support in cancer care. AIMS: To examine patients’ experiences of psychological readiness for cancer surgery across the prehabilitation-treatment pathway. METHODS: We used a longitudinal qualitative …

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Long-term prospective assessment of quality of life and physical function in malignant lymphoma patients undergoing chemotherapy.

This study aims to evaluate longitudinal changes in health state utility values, health-related quality of life, physical function, nutritional status, and fatigue in patients with malignant lymphoma from the start of chemotherapy to 1 year post-chemotherapy and clarify the implications for survivorship care planning. This prospective observational study included 21 patients hospitalized for chemotherapy who also received exercise therapy. Assessments …

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Graded Exercise Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fatigue in Patients With Breast Cancer: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Fatigue is a common debilitating symptom of breast cancer (BC), and its treatment may result in a significant symptom burden and affect adherence to treatment. Graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have separately been shown in previous studies to be beneficial for the management of cancer-related fatigue. OBJECTIVE: This study’s coprimary aims are to assess the …

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Effects of exercise therapy on chemotherapy delivery and response in primary breast cancer: A secondary analysis of a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Whether structured exercise therapy improves chemotherapy delivery, tolerability, and tumor response is unclear. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of a phase 2 trial investigating exercise therapy (n = 72) versus usual care (n = 72) in patients with primary breast cancer. Exercise therapy comprised individualized treadmill walking three times weekly for 20-50 minutes per session at 55%-100% of pretreatment exercise capacity. Chemotherapy …

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Combined aerobic and strength exercise training on biological ageing in Singaporean breast cancer patients: protocol for the Breast Cancer Exercise Intervention (BREXINT) Pilot Study.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prominent cancer amongst women, but fortunately, early diagnosis and advances in multimodality treatments have improved patient survivability. Cancer survivors, however, experience increased biological ageing which may accelerate other co-morbidities. Exercise intervention is a promising clinical adjuvant approach to improve BC patients’ physiological function, recovery from treatment, and quality of life. However, the effects of …

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Randomized trial of exercise on cancer-related blood biomarkers and survival in women with ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: In randomized trials in women with breast cancer, exercise has been shown to have beneficial effects on cancer-related circulating biomarkers that may impact survival. Such studies are lacking for ovarian cancer. METHODS: This secondary analysis of a published randomized controlled trial examined the impact of a 6-month exercise intervention versus attention-control on change in prespecified circulating biomarkers (cancer antigen …

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Criterion Validity of a Consumer Wearable for Step Counting and Activity Intensity Classification in Adults With Lung Cancer: Laboratory-Based Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Consumer wearable activity monitors are increasingly being used as end points in exercise-oncology trials and in clinical decision-making, yet their accuracy is unvalidated in lung cancer, where slow, fragmented gait may challenge step-counting algorithms. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the criterion validity of the Fitbit Charge 6 device against video-recorded direct observation in adults with lung cancer under controlled laboratory …

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Assessing Immune Fitness in Oncological Rehabilitation-Validity and Responsiveness of the Immune Status Questionnaire and Single-Item Scale.

BACKGROUND: Immune fitness (IF) reflects the body’s ability to mount appropriate immune responses. Monitoring IF could improve tailored treatment in oncological rehabilitation. The Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ) and the Single-Item Scale (SIS) were developed to assess IF, but their clinimetric properties in cancer rehabilitation remain unknown. AIMS: To evaluate the construct validity, responsiveness, and correlation between the ISQ and the …

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Exploring the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Safety of a 4:3 Intermittent Fasting Weight Loss Program Among Stage I-III Breast Cancer Survivors With Overweight or Obesity: Protocol for a 6-Month Proof-of-Concept Feasibility Trial.

BACKGROUND: Mounting evidence underscores the adverse effects of excess body weight during cancer survivorship, yet many breast cancer survivors struggle to maintain a healthy weight (approximately 70% have overweight or obesity [OW/OB]). Daily caloric restriction with increased physical activity is the standard behavioral weight loss approach; however, many fail to achieve clinically meaningful (>5%) weight loss, emphasizing the need for …

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Individualized Physiotherapy Improves Quality of Life and Symptom Burden in Advanced Cancer: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with advanced cancer frequently experience high symptom burden and reduced quality of life. Physiotherapy may represent an important nonpharmacological component of palliative care; however, evidence regarding its effectiveness in hospitalized patients remains limited. This study evaluated the effects of individualized physiotherapy on quality of life and symptom burden in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative …

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