The Application of an Exercise and Wellness Program for Cancer Patients

High‐intensity resistance and cardiovascular training improve physical capacity in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

“…The results showed a significant increase of 61.8% in leg presses and 67.1% in chest presses. Possible explanations for the observed differences compared with the Durak and Lilly (1998) study can be that the cancer patients had finished chemotherapy before the program and that a different method was used to measure muscle strength. A comparative analysis of the three studies shows that the patients' muscle strength at baseline (test 1) is higher in the current study (legpress 100.08 kg) than in those by Durak and Lilly (1998) (legpress 23.5 kg) and Kolden et al (2002) (legpress 73.65 kg).…”

“…Another training form was home‐based moderate walking exercise programs of at least 90 min/week (Mock et al, 1994; Schwartz, 1999; Segal et al, 2001). Few of these studies attempt to involve cancer patients with varying diagnoses and undergoing chemotherapy, and only a small number of exercise interventions involved patients with hematological malignancies (Durak & Lilly, 1998; Dimeo et al, 1999, 2003). The literature (MacVicar et al, 1989; Segal et al, 2001–2003; Kolden et al, 2002) shows only a few attempts to measure the effects of exercise by means of objective physiological methods in cancer patients concurrently undergoing treatment.…”

“…Increases in leg press and bench press exercises were of a comparable magnitude as those found in our study. In the study by Durak and Lilly (1998), a 10‐week supervised program involving aerobic machines, progressive strength training on cybex strength machines (Cybex Inc., Ronkoncoma, New York, USA), and flexibility/relaxation twice a week was conducted in 20 cancer patients with different diagnoses (17 oncological, three hematological) but had terminated their chemotherapy treatment prior to the program. The results showed a significant increase of 61.8% in leg presses and 67.1% in chest presses.…”

“…No studies were found that tested a high‐intensity (85–95% of maximal heart rate) exercise intervention. Only two exercise intervention studies were identified that tested resistance exercise training in cancer patients who were concurrently undergoing chemotherapy (Durak & Lilly, 1998; Kolden et al, 2002). Resistance exercise training is an important component of any training program among healthy people (Lucia et al, 2003).…”

Maximum physical capacity testing in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: qualitative findings from an exercise program

“…In an attempt to overcome these limitations, and to adhere to the scientific demands of documenting specific effects, exercise interventions have become more structured and include more specific objective physiological measurements such as maximum oxygen uptake (VO 2max ) (MacVicar et al, 1989) and one‐repetition maximum (1RM) tests (Durak & Lilly, 1998; Kolden et al, 2002; Adamsen et al, 2003). Lucia et al (2003) argue that pre‐training testing for functional capacity is crucial in developing personalized training programs for individual cancer patients, and moreover, that regular testing should occur throughout the course of an exercise intervention in order to determine consistent improvement in a patient's functional capacity.…”