Grant: Team Grant: CCS/CIHR Cancer Survivorship Team Grants

Exercise is an evidence-based self-management strategy that benefits all cancer survivors (CS). However, the majority of research, and the limited development of evidence-based clinical or community programs in exercise and cancer, has been conducted almost exclusively in urban academic and clinical settings. Very limited implementation in "hard to reach" CS, such as those in rural or non-urban environments, has occurred. There are unique features of the rural environment that are significant barriers to cancer care in general, and to supportive cancer care resources in particular, such as: geographic diversity, isolation, limited access/travel distances to resources and facilities, and lack of trained personnel to implement survivorship services,. Rural CS (RCS), or those living in non-urban settings (defined as <100,000 in population), report higher cancer burden from diagnosis through treatment and into survivorship (i.e., greater symptom burden). This burden is associated with inequitable access to supportive cancer care resources, including exercise programs, resulting in RCS experiencing more negative effects after treatment than their urban counterparts and being overall less healthy. Objectives: To disseminate, implement, and assess the effectiveness of our Exercise Oncology Survivorship (EOS) partnership model to increase the reach and delivery of exercise programs to RCS. Reaching more RCS with an exercise program will enhance cancer survivorship, providing fitness, health, and psychosocial benefits. Significance: Given our previous implementation success, we will extend the reach of our EOS partnership model across rural Canada and change the exercise levels of RCS. Our impact will include a sustainable environment to support exercise as a supportive cancer care for RCS towards greater quality of life.