21 August 2023

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF), a chronic, debilitating condition impacting up to 60 percent of all cancer patients, can be significantly alleviated using supervised exercise programs, according to new research published in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians’ (RACP) Internal Medicine Journal.

Australia ranks third in the world for incidence of cancer. One in two Australians will develop at least one type of cancer before the age of 85.

Due to world-class care, Australians have some of the highest cancer-related survival rates internationally. However, while our health system is saving people’s lives, it is not necessarily helping them thrive post-treatment.

“We are increasingly getting better at helping patients survive cancer, but we are not helping them cope with some of the side effects of cancer and cancer-related treatment,” lead author and University of Adelaide Associate Professor Anupam Datta Gupta said.

“Up to 60 percent of cancer survivors are being deprived of vital rehabilitation services that can markedly improve their health outcomes.

“Cancer-related fatigue is not a made-up condition. Someone may look fine on the outside to their family and friends, but the reality is they are suffering from severe exhaustion and fatigue. These patients are often trying to ameliorate fatigue by sleeping for long periods, but unlike everybody else, they wake up mentally and physically tired. And this fatigue can last for months, even years. So, it is very, very different to other types of exhaustion.”

The study, being published in August’s IMJ edition, followed 268 cancer patients in a private hospital in Adelaide. Patients participated in a three-month supervised exercise program. Patients attended the sessions twice a week under the supervision of expert physicians, exercise physiologists, and nurses. Data was collected over a five-year period from 2015 to 2020.

“We found patients reported a significant decrease in fatigue at the conclusion of the three-month program,” Professor Datta Gupta said.

“Patients attended group sessions twice a week that lasted around two hours, under the supervision of healthcare professionals. Pleasingly, over our five-year study, we saw marked improvement in our patients’ quality of life and emotional well-being.

Professor Datta Gupta said the hospital system is not investing enough resources into combating cancer-related fatigue.

“Right now, there are guidelines urging patients to exercise, but we know the majority of Australians with cancer still do not meet daily recommended exercise targets.

“This is not good enough. We need to integrate rehabilitation services into cancer treatment.

“Our research showed that a targeted and supervised exercise regime that takes place in a hospital setting can clearly help cancer survivors. It substantially improved their mental and physical health as well as treating their chronic fatigue.”

Read the Internal Medicine Journal article: Effects of an outpatient exercise programme for Australians with cancer-related fatigue: an unmet need