Optimizing the Teachable Moment for Health Promotion for Cancer Survivors and Their Families

Accelerometer‐measured physical activity and postmenopausal breast cancer incidence in the Women's Health Accelerometry Collaboration

“…reported a strong inverse association between MVPA and postmenopausal BC. However, the case‐control design may have resulted in biased results because women with BC may engage in greater physical activity following a diagnosis of BC to improve their prognosis or quality of life 33 . Our results are also in line with a number of previous studies that have examined self‐reported physical activity and BC risk including previous meta‐analyses and systematic reviews 3,6,34,35 …”

Nutritional screening in a cancer prehabilitation programme: A cohort study

“…Sarcopenic obesity indicates a reduced lean mass and increased fat mass creating a high risk body composition phenotype. A cancer diagnosis is described as a teachable moment 44 and presents an opportunity for healthcare professionals to provide sign posting for healthy eating and strengthening exercises to encourage weight reduction at the same time as maintaining muscle mass. Indeed, resistance exercises are important for all cancer patients and should be encouraged and supported when appropriate to maintain muscle mass and physical function.…”

Intervenção educacional de enfermagem dirigida à promoção dos comportamentos de saúde nos sobreviventes de cancro

“…Studies show a high prevalence of alcohol consumption, smoking, drug use, physical inactivity, and overweight among cancer survivors (Tollosa et al, 2019). Nevertheless, there is also evidence to suggest that cancer survivors are more likely to adopt healthy behaviors regarding tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and physical activity than people without a history of the disease (Frazelle & Friend, 2016;Park et al, 2015). Contrary to the results found by Tollosa et al (2019), these results are based on the fact that experiencing cancer can positively impact individuals' motivation to adopt risk-minimizing health behaviors (Park et al, 2015).…”

“…Hewitt et al (2006) argue that a survivorship plan should begin when primary treatment ends, although the transition from treatment to survivorship is not always clear. Frazelle and Friend (2016) point out that the period after the active phase of the disease (early survivorship) is a teachable moment when survivors are more conducive to lifestyle changes; thus, it is during early survivorship that survivors can benefit more from the intervention. Another relevant finding in the literature is that there is a peak of motivation during this period when nurses should intervene: at the end of treatments, survivors are happy with the success of the treatment, motivated to learn more about their disease, share their experience with their peers, make the course of treatment as smooth as possible, and look for solutions to minimize the risk of cancer recurrence (Coward, 2006).In this phase, survivors are also likely to face several difficulties that may influence the nurses' intervention: survivors reported feeling abandoned, had no intention of engaging in lifestyle changes, experienced uncertainty about how to implement adaptive changes, and described a lack of support from health care providers (Corbett et al, 2018).…”

“…Some studies recognize that including family members in the intervention can be difficult due to the several barriers to communication along the disease trajectory and because many survivors have difficulty discussing their cancer-related concerns with family members and find it more useful to discuss them with people with less personal/emotional involvement (Coward, 2006). Nevertheless, many studies report benefits and recommend including a family member in the professional intervention (Frazelle & Friend, 2016) particularly because the family environment that is created can support or undermine the survivor's behavioral change (Cooley et al, 2013). The overall analysis of the results shows that the technique used in this study provided (qualitative) data and a better understanding of the subject (promotion of health behaviors in cancer survivors).…”