Role of Professional Kinesiologists for Cancer Patients and Survivors

Abstract

Cancer is the leading cause of mortality worldwide, including in Korea, and mortality continues to increase with the progress of a super-aged society. A support or care system to reduce psychological issues, such as anxiety and depression, is very important during cancer patient treatment, and this can be achieved by exercise. In addition, exercise can alleviate cancer treatment side effects, improve patients’ functional status, lead to better outcomes after surgery, build baseline strength to endure treatments, and prevent recurrence. The relationship between cancer and exercise is still being debated; however, many studies have shown that regular physical activity prevents cancer occurrence and reduces the risk of recurrence and death [1]. Also, those with greater physical activity showed lower risk for 13 types of cancer [2], and several cases of certain common cancers had a lower mortality rate [3]. Some researchers found that the degree of physical activity in colorectal or breast cancer patients had a significant association with risk and incidence rate [4]. These findings suggest that physical activity or exercise can have a strong positive effect on the health of cancer patients and survivors.