Abstract
Background and AimsAlthough it has been widely recognized the potential of physical activity to help cancer patients' preparation for and recovery from surgery, there is little consideration of patient reflections and recovery experiences to help shape adherence to exercise programs. The aim was to explore the acceptability of our newly proposed isometric exercise program in a large general hospital trust in England providing specialist cancer care by using patient recollections of illness and therapy prior to undertaking a randomized controlled trial.MethodsFour Focus groups (FGs) were conducted with cancer survivors with an explicit focus on patient identity, functional capacity, physical strength, exercise advice, types of activities as well as the timing of our exercise program and its suitability. Thematic framework analysis was used with NVivo 11.ResultsFG data was collected in January 2016. A total of 13 patients were participated, 10 were male and 3 were female with participants' ages ranging from 39 to 77. Data saturation was achieved when no new information had been generated reaching “information redundancy.” Participants reflected upon their post‐surgery recovery experiences on the appropriateness and suitability of the proposed intervention, what they thought about its delivery and format, and with hindsight what the psychological enablers and barriers would be to participation.ConclusionBased upon the subjective recollections and recovery experiences of cancer survivors, isometric‐resistance exercise interventions tailored to individuals with abdominal cancer has the potential to be acceptable for perioperative patients to help increase their physical activity and can also help with emotional and psychological recovery.
Highlights
Nearly 50 000 United Kingdom patients undergo abdominal cancer surgery with the commonest types of cancer including colorectal, liver, pancreatic, kidney, renal, stomach, ovarian, and cervical cancer.[1]
Interventions drawing on patient reflections and recovery experiences from abdominal cancer surgery remain limited indicating a need to consult cancer survivors when introducing new exercise interventions drawing from their subjective recollections as patients to help shape adherence of future health care interventions
The key messages from the results indicate that operation-type, postsurgery recovery experiences, and the impact on mobility all influence acceptability of an isometric-resistance exercise intervention in abdominal cancer surgery patients
Summary
Nearly 50 000 United Kingdom patients undergo abdominal cancer surgery with the commonest types of cancer including colorectal, liver, pancreatic, kidney, renal, stomach, ovarian, and cervical cancer.[1]. There is a voluminous body of literature on the potential of exercise to help cancer surgery patients' preparation for and recovery from surgery, by minimizing the effects of muscle loss through exercise training.[5,6,7,8] The effect of strength training, as highlighted by Bergenthal et al, alongside physical activity has the potential to increase mobility and function to aid cancer recovery.[9] Yet, this literature has been limited in terms of scope and focus with findings on rehabilitation programs being reported on a range cancer types, rather than associated to abdominal cancer. Data saturation was achieved when no new information had been generated reaching “information redundancy.” Participants reflected upon their post-surgery recovery experiences on the appropriateness and suitability of the proposed intervention, what they thought about its delivery and format, and with hindsight what the psychological enablers and barriers would be to participation. Conclusion: Based upon the subjective recollections and recovery experiences of cancer survivors, isometric-resistance exercise interventions tailored to individuals with abdominal cancer has the potential to be acceptable for perioperative patients to help increase their physical activity and can help with emotional and psychological recovery
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