Patients from Orange and the region continue to benefit from a Cancer Care Exercise Physiology pilot program, designed to support management of symptoms and improve quality of life through targeted exercise.
Patient story Keith
The pilot program began in October 2022 and is a free service for people who are about to commence cancer treatment, those who are undergoing treatment or those living with advanced cancer.
Hannah McDermott and Dylan West, Orange Health Service Cancer Care Exercise Physiologists, said the program’s guided, personalised exercise programs have improved patients’ health and helped them manage the side effects of treatment.
“Our patients have achieved some amazing results and continue to give us incredible feedback on how big an impact the program is having to improve their well-being,” Ms McDermott said.
“We provide initial assessments for cancer care patients and then form personalised, targeted exercise programs tailored to each patient, to ensure their training is as beneficial as possible.”
“Targeted exercise has a range of benefits for cancer care patients. Improved physical and mental health makes it easier to manage symptoms or side effects of treatment, but it can also improve the efficacy of treatment itself,” Mr West added.
“We’ve seen major benefits for our patients including significant increases in skeletal muscle mass and strength, along with significant improvements to fatigue and pain levels, sleep and mental health.”
Dr Peter Fox, WNSWLHD Medical Oncologist, was heavily involved in planning and establishing the pilot program and said the initial data and results are extremely encouraging.
“This pilot is a first for the District, and what we’ve seen so far is incredibly positive and it mirrors the existing body of evidence that shows exercise interventions to be an essential component of comprehensive cancer treatment,” Dr Fox said.
“The research supports exercise interventions as one of the most cost-effective treatments available to reduce side effects, improve quality of life and reduce risk of cancer recurrence.”
Initial assessments for patients are conducted at Orange Health Service and group exercise classes are run at Integra Health and Fitness. Cancer care patients can be referred to the service by their doctor or nurse, or can contact Orange Health Service’s Exercise Physiologists directly.
