Some cancer patients are being treated for rare types of cancer and they are only allowed to do a certain activity of daily living. Brushing their teeth, or holding a cup of hot tea can be very hard for them or sometimes close to impossible.
However, a new research has found that moderate exercise can help these patients go back to their normal active, pre-cancer diagnosis lifestyle and improve their quality of life.
The study was presented at the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia's (COSA) Annual Scientific meeting which was held in Hobart, by Edith Cowan University with Cancer Council WA.
The study included 127 cancer patients with at least 25 various types of very rare or less common forms of cancer. Aside from the rare cancers, the study also involved cancers that are commonly diagnosed such as, ovarian cancer, leukemia and brain cancer. This study was done in the community for three months that combined both moderate weight and cardio training.
The researchers found that 60% of the patients who finished the program improved three major aspects in their lives, strength, balance, and fitness. They had approximately 18% improvement in their ability to lift themselves from a chair, gaining a 20% improvement in their strength, enhanced their ability to walk up to 400 meters by 8% and their balance also increased by 18%.
These improvements showed the researchers that despite being diagnosed with these illnesses, they are still able to perform activities of daily living on their own.
Associate Professor Prue Cormie from Australian Catholic University's Institute of Health and Ageing said that after a period of time, surveys showed that they have observed an intense amount of continuous improvement in the patient's quality of life.
She also explained that while the activities mentioned may seem basic, for patients diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, having the ability to do these activities with comfort and autonomy have a huge impact in their quality of life.