Most of us know what’s good for us but don’t do it

[Paul Edwards]

The Annual General Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) is an important event where lots of new developments in oncology are announced and discussed.

 

This year’s meeting will be held from 29 May 2015 to 2 June 2015.

 

Ahead of the meeting, a number of abstracts (summaries of scientific articles) have been released. One of these abstracts was a study by researchers led by Professor Daniel Galvao of Edith Cowan University in Perth.

 

The benefits of exercise for prostate cancer survivors is well established.

 

Professor Galvao and his colleagues studied 463 Australian prostate cancer survivors to see how many of the men were getting sufficient exercise. The participants in the study were also tested for psychological distress, unmet supportive care needs, and quality of life.

 

Current exercise guidelines for cancer survivors recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of strenuous exercise per week and twice weekly resistance exercise.

 

Only 12.3% of the men got sufficient exercise in accordance with the guidelines.

 

40.2% of the men did some exercise.

 

47.5% of the men were inactive.

 

The study found that lack of physical activity contributed to poorer quality of life and greater psychological distress.

 

However, doing some exercise was better than doing none at all.  The men who did some exercise had less psychological distress and anxiety than the men who didn’t exercise.

 

2015 ASCO Annual Meeting Abstract No: e16089
Australian prostate cancer survivors’ compliance to contemporary aerobic and resistance exercise oncology guidelines and associations with psychological distress, unmet supportive care needs and quality of life.