Science of Cancer Survivorship Research Growing

Since my cancer diagnosis in l998 there has been an explosion in survivorship advocacy, research and information for the 11, oops, now 12 million cancer survivors in America - - a number that has tripled during the past thirty years according to a Lance Armstrong Foundation report.

The emerging field of cancer survivorship research underscores what we as survivors can do to enhance our lives and how cancer professionals can help guide that path.

Last week the fifth Cancer Survivorship Research Conference convened  in Washington DC  for two and a half days’ of presentations  on cancer rehabilitation, physical activity and survivorship, survivorship in women of color,  issues for young cancer survivors, and the perception of both benefits and negative changes associated with the cancer experience.   

The opening session, “Physical Activity, Weight Status and Survivorship,” featured some of the findings from Dr. Wendy Demark Wahnefried’s  DAMES (Daughters and Mothers Against Breast Cancer) trial, which recruited pairs (mother and daughter) to look at whether the mother daughter bond could serve as support and motivation for weight loss in overweight breast cancer survivors.  Despite the study’s success – even the control group lost weight in the mother-daughter pairs – future studies would probably be expanded to “mothers, daughters,“ Wahnefried said, “and others. There were some daughters who didn’t want to participate with their Moms.  Next time we’ll cast a wider net.”

Hopefully findings can be applied to this and other programs that help survivors lose weight. A body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 and weight gain during adulthood are both associated with an increased risk for breast cancer, not to mention other cancers and heart disease. 

“We have data from observational studies that physical activity not only enhances survivorship but lowers the risk of recurrence, but we have to back that up with long-term studies,” Wahnefried said. “What’s safely said?  Avoid physical inactivity.”

Ultimately it comes down to cells and chemistry.

In an experiment published late last month in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from Harvard and other institutions used mass spectrometers to analyze blood samples taken from a group of unfit, healthy, and super-fit (marathon runners) individuals.  In each group marked changes in metabolites, which drive metabolism, were activated in as little as ten minutes of exercise.  The metabolites also ignited reactions in other genes, specifically those regulating cholesterol and blood sugar.  (3)  

These preliminary results and others studies like this, will one day show the interactions of exercise, blood chemistry and the immune systems’ ability to fight off marauding cancer cells.

Until then let’s continue to gently support and encourage greater fitness and healthier eating patterns in all our sisters with cancer.

Would you be willing to try a health and fitness program with your Mom?  Or would that bring up too much family drama?  How about your daughter?

Illustration Credit:  Bryan Christie. NY Times Magazine.

Notes: 

1.       1.LiveStrong, Austin, Texas.  How Cancer Has Affected Post-Treatment Survivors. 2010

2.  Rowland, J.H., Aziz, N.M. Tesauro, G & Feur, E. (2001) The changing face of cancer survivorship.  Semin Oncol. Nurs 17: 236-240.
3. Reynolds, Gretchen (2010) A workout for your bloodstream.  NY Times Magazine, June 20, 2010: 16.