Evaluation of a supervised physical activity programme for cancer survivors: From treatment to triathlon

Objective It is recommended that cancer survivors incorporate physical activity into their daily lives after in-hospital rehabilitation. However, there is a lack of training programmes focusing on the specific needs of cancer survivors. TriaGO! - an 8-month intervention study of aerobic endurance training for cancer survivors - was therefore examined. The training programme aims to meet the participants' physical needs and provide socio-emotional support, in the form of an exercise programme that challenges participants to aim to compete in an Olympic- distance triathlon (1,000 m swimming, 45 km cycling, 10 km running) after 8 months' of training. Methods The TriaGO! training programme was provided to in-hospital rehabilitated cancer survivors (n = 12). Each patient invited a healthy friend or family member to train with them (a so called buddy (n = 12)). The 8-month programme involves supervised training sessions, combining cycling, swimming and running, which progress in frequency, duration and intensity. Physical health was measured at the start, 4 and 8 months, using objective parameters of aerobic fitness, muscular fitness and body composition. Results A total of 22 out of 24 participants successfully completed the training programme and the triathlon. Both the cancer survivors and their buddies showed significant improvements in physical health. Cancer survivors showed improvements in aerobic fitness, as increases in VO2max and VO2peak of 5.5 ml.kg-1.min-1 and 0.26 ml.min-1 respectively (p <0.0001). Buddies underwent similar significant increases; 5.39 ml.kg-1.min-1 and 0.18 ml.min-1, respectively. Conclusion The TriaGO! training programme introduces the concept of supervised endurance training for cancer survivors. Through measurement of ob-jective parameters, this study demonstrated that significant physical reconditioning is possible in cancer survivors. A supervised programme would be recommended for all cancer patients after in-hospital treatment, in order to facilitate the transition to incorporation of physical activity into daily life.