Walk on: A Community-based Approach to Increase Physical Activity Among Men Treated for Colorectal Cancer

Summary

In Canada, over 102,900 men are diagnosed with cancer each year. Of these, 81,000 are diagnosed with colorectal cancer and an estimated 65% are expected to survive the disease for at least 5 years. Men who have completed treatment for colorectal cancer face many adverse physical, cognitive, psychological, and social effects. The Wellness Beyond Cancer Program at The Ottawa Hospital is a cancer survivorship program that helps people who have completed treatment for cancer, including men diagnosed with colorectal cancer, manage these effects. The Wellness Beyond Cancer Program does this through education and referral to supportive care services and programs offered throughout the city of Ottawa.

Group-based physical activity programs are one of the varied services and programs available to adults diagnosed with cancer in Ottawa. Such programs are offered through the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (http://www.ottawacancer.ca) and Breast Cancer Action Ottawa (http://bcaott.ca). Research on these programs show that group-based physical activity can improve disease and treatment-related effects while promoting overall quality of life amongst women with cancer. However, few of these programs have targeted men, even though their needs and preferences have been shown to be very different from women. While men diagnosed with colorectal cancer might also benefit from group-based physical activity programs offered in the community, it is not known if such programs would effectively reach them and what the impact would be on their quality of life after cancer treatment.

It is believed that a men's group-based walking program could be an effective way to reach men and promote quality of life after cancer treatment. Therefore, a sustainable 8-week group-based walking program was developed. This project will seek to explore the feasibility and potential benefits of the program among men who have completed treatment for colorectal cancer and who are referred to the program from staff at the Wellness Beyond Cancer Program in a prospective single-arm trial.

Conditions

• Colorectal Cancer

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Group-based walking

The walking prescription will be progressive in nature. The program will begin with participants walking for approximately 20 minutes in weeks 1-3. This will gradually increase to approximately 30 minutes in weeks 4-6. Finally, this will increase to 45-60 minutes in weeks 7-8. The program will promote walking at a moderate intensity as assessed by Borg's Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. Each session will be preceded by a brief warm-up and followed by a brief cool-down period.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Ottawa

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jennifer Brunet, PhD · University of Ottawa

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-10-05

Primary Completion

2018-09-30

Completion

2018-09-30

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations