Outcomes of a Pilot Virtual Survivorship Group Medical Visit and Cancer Exercise Program
Pearl, A., Coppenrath, C., Litterini, A., Speckhart, A., Wissink, T.
Introduction/Background
Cancer survivors experience a multitude of late and long-term effects of cancer treatment, concurrent with the influences of age, health behaviors, and social determinants of health.
Lifestyle Medicine (LM) strategies, based on six pillars including wholefood, plant-based nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections, can have substantial impact on overall health in survivorship. Virtual group medical visits (GMV) offer a convenient method of education, goal setting, and health coaching. The purpose of this pilot was to launch a LM-GMV program with a supervised cancer exercise (CE) component for adult cancer survivors post-treatment, and assess participants’ post-program satisfaction.
Methods/Approach
A virtual LM-GMV and an in-person CE program were developed for cancer survivors. A sixvisit 90-minute virtual GMV program (50-minutes didactic content; 10-minutes provider breakout sessions; 30-minutes health coaching) launched for breast and gynecologic cancer survivors in 2023. At the conclusion of the GMVs, the eight-week, twice-weekly supervised CE program was offered by certified CE specialists, hosted in a cardiac rehabilitation facility. Post-program satisfaction was assessed via a 29-item Likert-type multiple choice and openended survey on paper or electronically in REDCap.
Results
Participant 7: “I am so grateful that I was referred to participate in this program. Both the medical and exercise components have helped me to reach my goals. I also appreciate that I have the support of Amy and the other team members in the future. Thank you!”
Participant 2: “The program helped me a lot. The exercise component was very motivating. I went on vacation with my family to a national park where we did a lot of hiking every day. I would not have been able to do all the hikes without participating in the exercise program prior to our vacation. Thank you!”
Participant 5: “All the providers were excellent, they were compassionate, professional and always seemed eager to answer all and any questions. I learned so much more than I expected, going into it I "kinda thought I knew it all". The physical rehab was the "cherry on the top". I felt safe and well instructed by staff who were always there to support and encourage us. I am joining the maintenance program to continue getting fitter and healthier. I would recommend this program to anyone and have urged my PCP to as well.”
Results
Eight cancer survivors (breast=7; endometrial=1) enrolled in the pilot; 100% completed the GMVs. The majority (7/8) enrolled in the CE component, and also completed the post-program survey (87.5% response rate). Overall satisfaction for both the LM-GMV and CE program was “excellent” (100%), and 100% were “very likely” to recommend the program to other survivors.
Discussion/Conclusions
A virtual survivorship LM-GMV program with a supervised CE option was wellreceived by cancer survivors with encouraging post-program satisfaction in this small sample size. Our future direction is expansion of the LM-GMV program to medical oncology referrals and to survivors earlier in the survivorship continuum, and the CE program to survivors with other cancer diagnoses.