The goal is to reduce some of the risk factors cancer survivors face each day.
"We have evidence that cancer survivors are at higher risk of additional functional limitations," said Dr. Miriam C. Morey, a professor at Duke University. "When they go through cancer therapy, they have accelerated functional decline." Duke University designed a program for 600 cancer survivors. Joe Collie was one of the patients. He survived prostate cancer, but one of the results of his treatment was that he became overweight. Joe adapted his diet when he joined the Duke study and aimed at evaluating and improving his physical abilities.
He didn't have to join a gym, he simply followed an outlined exercise program at home.
The program included some telephone counseling to discuss his progress with the diet and the exercise.
"We asked them to make a lot of changes in a lot of different dimensions," said Dr. Morey, who helped design the program. "Not only physical activity, but dietary changes, all at one time. They got a lot of requests made of them and they responded. And as a result, their physical function improved considerably."
Compared to the control group, the study participants reported less physical decline and increased physical activity, quality of life and weight loss.
Dr. Morey says this should be a wake up call to health care providers. Functional decline is not inevitable for survivors.
"The same wake up call should be 'Wow, we should do something,'" Dr. Morey said. "We should be promoting health, we should be promoting behavioral change."
The study will be published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
It's another testament to the strong results of two positive "medications" - a good diet and a good exercise program. It can apply not only for cancer survivors, but for the healthy, for children, for everyone.
Web produced by Ilene Rosen
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