Physical exercise and quality of life in postsurgical colorectal cancer patients

Abstract

Preliminary evidence indicates that physical exercise may be an effective strategy for optimizing quality of life (QOL) following breast cancer diagnosis but evidence for other cancers is limited. In the present study, we employed a prospective design to examine the relationship between physical exercise and QOL in 53 postsurgical colorectal cancer patients. Participants completed a mailed, self-administered questionnaire at baseline (i.e. about two months postsurgery) that assessed exercise prediagnosis and current QOL. They then monitored and reported their exercise behaviour over a four-month period at which time they completed a second mailed, self-administered questionnaire that reassessed QOL. Analyses of variance and multiple regression analyses indicated that functional QOL was the least possessed but most important dimension underlying overall satisfaction with life. Moreover, correlational analyses indicated that changes in mild exercise from prediagnosis to postsurgery correlated positively with QOL at four-month follow-up and with changes in QOL from baseline to follow-up. It was concluded that changes in mild exercise from prediagnosis to postsurgery are positively associated with QOL in colorectal cancer patients but that experimental research is needed before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.