Ester Molina Beltran, Eva

Adapted physical activity and the care pathway for oncology patients - 2024.


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The maintenance and optimization of functional capacities before, during, and after treatments are major challenges for individuals with cancer. It is now well established that physical activity in prehabilitation before surgery plays a crucial role in limiting, among other things, post-operative complications. The benefits have already been demonstrated in various studies, including a decrease in length of stay in hospital, an increase in cardiorespiratory endurance, improvement in quality of life, and better fatigue management. It has been observed that the patients who undergo prehabilitation are those who recover their functional capacities the fastest. However, it is estimated that only one-third of patients with access to prehabilitation improve their physical capacities. The modalities of intervention and follow-up (adherence, generic format, etc.) seem to be a barrier to patient engagement in these programs and may explain this low result, despite the well-established benefits of adapted physical activity. This article therefore aims to present the benefits of adapted physical activity (APA) in the patient care journey. Awareness of APA during the cancer treatment phase is increasing and signals the integration of this approach into supportive care in oncology, just like nutrition.