Quality of life benefits in cancer survivorship with supervised exercise

Abstract

To assess whether a supervised exercise program would benefit cancer survivors' perceived psychological well-being over the course of a 6-mo. program, 8 female and 2 male cancer survivors, ages 45 to 69 (M = 56.2, SD = 8.1) were recruited into the program from a presentation given to a breast-cancer support group and by word of mouth. Activity sessions were two times per week and typically involved treadmill and bicycle ergometer time, plus eight to ten weight-training stations. A quality of life measure was taken at baseline, 3, and 6 mo. Analyses showed a significant increase in quality of life from baseline to 3 mo. and from baseline to 6 mo. Being physically active in a supervised exercise program provided increased perceived benefits in quality of life for these cancer survivors over 6 mo.