Melissa Sherman, Graduate Research Assistant at the Indiana University School of Health and Human Sciences talks about the benefits of exercise for adolescents and young adults with cancer.
Tell me the difference that exercise is making for people that have been through cancer?
Melissa Sherman: The population of this group is adolescents and young adults who have survived pediatric cancer. This group has a lot of different effects and what we see is premature aging. They have a higher rate of chronic conditions like Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, just premature aging things that we normally would not expect to see in this population group of 15 to 39 years of age. A lot of that has to do with the effects of the treatments that they have gone through including living a sedentary lifestyle. So, we are doing a one-on-one individualized exercise program. They work with certified exercise trainers who are undergraduate students, and they are carried through a 12-week program. They meet three times a week for one-hour sessions and they do muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular exercise, and flexibility exercises.
What is the benefit to have kids go through this program?
Melissa Sherman: There is a lot. Muscular strength is improving their cardiovascular fitness level for being able to do small things like walk up the stairs. We hear them say all the time that they are getting benefits over time especially from their baseline or initial point until that 12-week mark. It is amazing to see the changes they make. But it is not only physical because there is also improvement in their quality of life, and their fatigue ratings improve with exercise. Just their overall wellness improves as well.
Is there a benefit or a danger in having cancer survivors work out?
Melissa Sherman: The research has shown time and again that the benefits far outweigh the dangers, especially when they are working with somebody trained and specialized to work with this population group. They know how to individualize the program to the patient or the cancer survivor. So that makes a world of a difference because there is a lot they go through as far as fatigue, even lymphedema and things like that we must be aware of. But if the trainer knows what they are doing, then absolutely the benefits far outweigh the risks.
Is there anything I did not ask that you want people to know?
Melissa Sherman: There is a lot that goes on with pediatric cancer survivors, especially with the treatment side effects. It is not just physical but also developmental because they are pediatric patients, and they are growing. So, there is a lot of developmental things going on both physically and mentally that the treatment affects. So, exercise has been shown to lessen the side effects and lessen the risks as far as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. So just overall, exercise is a real form of medicine for these people.
How many kids are you working with?
Melissa Sherman: Right now, we have about 26 kids that are currently enrolled, and we are aiming to get 374 as our target number.
When is the study supposed to wrap up?
Melissa Sherman: We have a few years left to get to that point. So, it is two to three years left.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News.
END OF INTERVIEW
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