Community-based exercise programme boosts wellbeing in men awaiting prostate cancer surgery

As recently diagnosed men wait for their prostate cancer surgery, participating in a community-based, preoperative exercise programme may help improve their overall wellbeing and quality of life, a recent study has found.

The study included 11 men (mean age 60±7 years) who had been scheduled to undergo prostate cancer surgery. Participants were enrolled into an established community-based, medically supervised, rehabilitation programme, which involved a training prescription of aerobic and resistance training exercises, following the frequency, intensity, time, type (FITT) principle.

A home-based option was offered to those who were unable to access the centre due to work or living circumstances, but assessments were all centralized, giving participants the chance to interact with other people also on the programme.

Semi-structured interviews revealed that the benefits of the exercise programme could be divided into four main themes. First, participants said that engaging in the programme provided a teachable moment for them, making them more aware of their overall health and of the tools needed to make positive changes.

Participants also said that the programme acted as a journey of preparation and as a “stepping stone on the road to ultimate recovery.” Focusing on exercise kept them busy and helped them psychologically prepare for the operation.

The intervention also bred in participants a sense of optimism and helped them develop a positive attitude. This hallmark of psychological wellbeing also seemed to improve throughout the programme.

Finally, participants also fostered a sense of social connectedness, which they earned from sharing their experiences and hearing the stories of other patients with cancer. “This theme illustrates the value and usefulness of peer learning and sharing of experience through social connection rather than focusing solely on health care professional advice, research, and ‘academic’ information,” the researchers said.