Cancer patients miss out on fitness advice
Wednesday April 29th, 2015
Patients with bowel cancer benefit from keeping fit - but many say they have never received this advice, researchers say today.
A study of 15,000 patients found that just 31% recalled received advice to undertake physical activity.
Researchers found that those who received advice were more physically active than others.
And they found that a third of patients undertook no physical activity - while just 22% achieved two and a half hours of exercise a week.
The research, undertaken at University College, London, UK,was published in BMJ Open.
Researcher Dr Abi Fisher said: "Previous research has shown that doctors can increase their cancer patients’ levels of activity by discussing exercise, but they need clear information to ensure this important advice becomes routine.
“We’re keen to boost the number of health professionals promoting physical activity by finding simple but effective ways to give this important advice.”
The Royal College of GPs said it would encourage doctors to recommend exercise to patients.
Its cancer specialist Dr Richard Roope said there was "evidence that exercise can reduce the risk in developing further, unrelated cancers – as well as other conditions, such as heart disease and dementia - in patients who have already had cancer, as is currently the case in over half of cancer patients who have survived more than ten years."
He added: “There is no reason why GPs and other healthcare professionals should not recommend exercise to patients recovering from cancer, if they are physically and medically fit to undertake it.
"It is already happening in some parts of the country, with some areas offering NHS part-funded community exercise schemes that GPs can refer cancer patients to."
Fisher et al. Recall of physical activity advice was associated with higher levels of physical activity in colorectal cancer patients. BMJ Open 9 April 2015; doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006853
Tags: Cancer | Fitness | Gastroenterology | UK News
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