The La Fe Health Research Institute (IIS La Fe), the IVO Foundation, the Association of Professional Sports Managers of the Valencian Community, the Trinidad Alfonso Foundation and SUMA Fitness Club, have presented the conclusions of the clinical study “Physical exercise and breast cancer”.
This study, carried out among 60 patients who have overcome breast cancer, has evaluated the effects of a 13-week physical activity program for six months, with the aim of measuring adherence to physical exercise. For this, a specific program of physical exercise has been developed adapted to the needs and realities of patients, designed by thes Dr. Ana Queralt and Marta Terrón, professors of the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Valencia, and taught by Igor Herrero, Bachelor of Science in Physical Activity and Sports. The collaboration of this multidisciplinary team has been key in each of the stages.
Results: 9 out of 10 women develop adherence to moderate physical exercise
The results of the study show that most of the women who carried out this plan guided by professionals incorporated physical exercise into their daily lives and as part of their habits. 88.68% of the patients continued exercising once the plan was completed.
Those responsible for research at the IVO and IIS La Fe have expressed the need for “sports programs – supervised by professionals – to be incorporated as part of the treatment of oncological disease: Lack of exercise practice is common among patients due to ignorance and because there are no professional programs that guarantee the well-being of the patient “, they have pointed out.
The doctor Elena Oliete, Associate Physician of the IVO Foundation Home Hospitalization Unit and one of the study coordinators has highlighted that the fact of working in a non-medical environment has been key to the state of mind and the way of facing the study by the participants. “The positive effects of sport in cancer patients are demonstrated and supported by many studies. It is verified that exercise prevents, protects from a second relapse and even from other diseases, but, in addition, I would highlight that on an emotional level the results of this program have been incredible. The power of the group has been a catalyst “, highlighted the specialist.
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For its part, the doctora Olga Pons, a doctor specializing in Radiation Oncology at the Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe de Valencia and also responsible for the project, has wanted to influence the path that remains to be traveled between the medical prescription of exercising and the actual practice by patients . “This study has shown that training programs designed and supervised by professionals are able to generate habit and that 9 out of 10 patients continue to do physical exercise on a daily basis with all the benefits that this entails,” concluded the doctor.
The program was held at the facilities of the SUMA Fitness Club Patacona sports center and included practical sessions of stationary bike, elastic band exercises, walk-march-run, power circuit, aquatic exercises and aerobic exercises combined with dance. The exercises were directed and supervised by Igor Herrero, an elite athlete with a degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences.
Exercise and breast cancer
Only 30% of breast cancer patients exercise and 25-50% decrease their physical activity during treatment. One of the objectives of the is to teach patients, from the rigor and professionalism, how to incorporate exercise in your life and, above all, to maintain it over time according to the personal conditions of each one.
The benefits of physical activity in the case of women already diagnosed with breast cancer are very important. In these patients, exercise helps to strengthen the immune system and the heart, reduces the feeling of fatigue and also contributes to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Therefore, exercise contributes to improving the quality of life and increasing patient survival.
The Spanish Breast Cancer Research Group (GEICAM) has recently proposed a specific definition for oncological physical exercise as “that exercise prescribed by a professional, which is performed to reduce or prevent the side effects of oncological treatments individually, and that, due to its global effects on the body, improve the health, quality of life and survival of patients “.
Breast cancer is the most diagnosed tumor in women and 1 in 8 suffers from it throughout their lives, so early detection is very important and prevention where physical exercise plays a fundamental role, which also helps prevent relapses “
Primary prevention should play a very important role in reducing the incidence of this disease. We know that physical exercise has a beneficial role in the incidence, but also in the evolution of the disease and in the toxicity produced by the treatments.
About breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common tumor in women, the incidence in Spain in 2015 was 27,740 cases. The risk of suffering from this type of cancer throughout life occurs in one in eight women and the incidence of this pathology shows a trend in the form of an upward curve, with an increase of 2-3% per year.
Risk factors for developing breast cancer include age, race, family history, genetic susceptibility, alcohol, obesity, tobacco, physical inactivity, history of previous biopsies, high breast density, nulliparity, prolonged use of hormonal therapies with estrogens and progesterone , early menarche or late menopause. Only less than 10% of breast cancer cases are hereditary, being related to a mutation in the BRCA 1 and BCRA 2 genes.
Women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer have a high survival rate (86% at 5 years) Due to the fact that most cases are diagnosed in the initial stages of the disease thanks to mammographic screening and the continuous progress and improvement of the applied treatments.
About IVO Foundation
The Valencian Institute of Oncology Foundation, IVO, is a monographic center specialized in caring for patients with cancer. The IVO is a private, non-profit organization, whose assets and resources are allocated entirely to the fight against cancer in all its aspects: prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research and teaching.
For more information: Carmen Ivars 690820646; Francisco Albarracin
[email protected]/ [email protected]
About IIS La Fe.
The La Fe Health Research Institute is a biomedical research center accredited by the Carlos III Health Institute. It is made up of 44 research groups, organized into 8 research areas. In 2020, IIS La Fe initiated 284 current competitive aid research projects and 261 clinical studies, published 1104 articles and scientific reviews with a JCR cumulative impact factor of 1104, and has a portfolio of 46 current patents.
For more information. Anna Juan Roch. Coordinator of the Area of Communication and Diffusion of Science. Telephone: 638 04 45 68. Email: [email protected]
About Trinidad Alfonso Foundation
The Trinidad Alfonso Foundation is named after Juan Roig’s mother, its president and patron. It is the vehicle through which he channels his patronage vocation and that of sharing with society what he has received from it. The Trinidad Alfonso Foundation promotes or collaborates annually about fifty projects, among which the Valencia Marathon and Half Marathon, the FER Project stand out. (aid program for Valencian athletes on their way to the Olympic Games) or initiatives aimed at instilling the values of sport in schools. What’s more, promotes the Community of Sport brand, which aims to position the Valencian Community as a national and international benchmark, in addition to ordering the sport that is practiced and organized in the three provinces.
For more information: Julián Lafuente 639072303. [email protected]
About SUMA Fitness Club
SUMA Fitness Club is a Valencian chain of reference in the management of sports facilities. It has four centers located in the province of Valencia and Castellón. In his career, he has collaborated in different projects or informative actions with the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the Red Cross, among others.
For more information: www.sumafitnessclub.com
About the Association of Professional Sports Managers of the Valencian Community (GEPACV),
The Association of Professional Sports Managers of the Valencian Community (GEPACV), is an independent and plural association, with legal personality, non-profit, legally constituted and registered in the Registry of Professional Associations of the Valencian Community, of which they are part more than 250 associates.
Represents an important group in the management of sport, made up of sports managers, sports technicians, administrative and management personnel of sports associations, clubs and federations, sports service companies, gyms, sports councilors, students, and ultimately any person interested in sports management, from the provinces from Alicante, Castellón and Valencia.
For more information: www.gepacv.org
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