Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Patient-Oriented Research

We designed and launched the Alberta Cancer Exercise (ACE) program, a five-year hybrid effectiveness-implementation study to evaluate the benefit of an Alberta-wide cancer-specific community-based exercise program. ACE programming is offered in urban sites of Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer. ACE is a supervised 12-week community-based exercise program for those undergoing or recovering from cancer treatment. Over 2100 individuals with cancer have enrolled in ACE in the last 5 years and 1958 (93%) have completed the program. Ninety-two percent of ACE participants report high to very high program satisfaction. "This program has now inspired me to want to take better care of myself. I have lost a lot of that inner core strength and balance I once had. The ACE program is giving me the encouragement and ability to rebuild what I lost. I am benefitting from this program both mentally and physically." [quote from an ACE Participant] We have demonstrated that ACE can: (1) be delivered successfully in communities across Alberta, 2) satisfy the needs of individuals with cancer and healthcare professionals, and 3) improve participants' physical fitness, symptoms and quality of life. The overwhelming interest in ACE among individuals with cancer, and the success of our community partners in delivering ACE, support the successful implementation of this community-based program. The purpose of this application is to secure funding to: (1) collect and analyze five-year follow-up data on ACE participants' physical activity levels, physical fitness, quality of life and overall health; (2) evaluate if ACE is cost-effective to deliver in the healthcare system; and (3) determine how to support and sustain the ACE program over the long-term so that all Albertans with cancer will have access to, and can benefit from cancer-specific community-based exercise regardless of location of residence.