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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‘You’ve Given Me My Voice’-Enhancing Engagement in Exercise Oncology Research: A Patient and Public Involvement Approach to Co‑Designing a Pre‑Radiotherapy Exercise Programme With People Living With Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests exercise may improve radiotherapy efficacy by reducing treatment resistance caused by tumour hypoxia. However, recruitment to exercise oncology studies is low (median 38%), particularly for people with lung cancer. One strategy to address such engagement barriers is by collaborating through Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE). OBJECTIVE: To co-design an acceptable pre‑radiotherapy exercise programme for …

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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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Effects on patient activation of eHealth support in addition to standard care in patients after radical prostatectomy: Analysis of secondary outcome from a randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer is often treated with radical prostatectomy, but surgery can leave patients with side effects. Patients who actively take part in their rehabilitation have been shown to achieve better clinical outcomes. eHealth support has the potential to increase patient activation, but has rarely been evaluated in long-term randomized controlled trials. Therefore, we evaluated the effects on patient activation …

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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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