Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Living with advanced cancer can significantly affect a person's overall quality of life. Cancer treatments can lead to reduced physical function, which makes participating in daily activities more difficult. When cancer spreads in the body, it may also lead to symptoms, such as pain, further impacting a person's physical function. Reduced physical function is especially distressing if it interferes with a person's ability to work, spend time with others, or do activities that they enjoy. People with advanced cancer have reported that being able to maintain their physical function is crucial. Specialized programs, called cancer rehabilitation, are designed to improve physical function and quality of life. Yet, not enough people with advanced cancer use these services, despite their potential increased need. The proposed project will add to a research program called CanRehab (supported by the Canadian Cancer Society and CIHR). CanRehab is working to expand rehabilitation services to people with advanced cancer. As part of this effort, CanRehab created a program called the Cancer Rehabilitation and Exercise - Advanced Cancer (CaRE-AC) program. CaRE-AC offers group-based exercise and patient education sessions tailored to the needs of people with advanced cancer. The proposed project aims to ensure the success of the CaRE-AC program by identifying factors that may be supporting or hindering rehabilitation delivery from the perspectives of those who took part in the program (patients) and those who ran the program (healthcare providers). Results will help inform how to continue improving CaRE-AC program delivery in the future. Feedback from patients and healthcare providers will also be used to develop and evaluate resource(s) to help train the next generation of people involved in delivering CaRE-AC. These practical resources will help to ensure the program continues to be delivered effectively and can be used by more people across Canada in the future.