Pursuit of Happiness

WHAT:
     Victim's of cancer, in this case breast cancer, often struggle to live their lives to their fullest potential and/or desire.  With any cancer patient, they are effected daily by the sickness, weakness, and medical treatments which alters their living and activity. Patients struggle to cope and their quality of life diminishes and is effected as well (Guyatt, Feeny, & Patrick, 1993). Emotional health and physical health both need to be addressed in help ensure a positive recovery for the patient. Many patients often think about the benefit that physical activity can bring them throughout their unfortunate sickness. For example, last year a linebacker at Boston College was diagnosed with cancer, and missed the 2009 season due to treatment. In an interview with ESPN, he stated that he believed that his ability to workout and lift throughout the treatment, assisted his fast recovery and emotional health, believing that he would soon return to the playing field for his senior season in 2010. So being able to increase quality of life for a cancer patient can be beneficial to an optimal recovery.

SO WHAT:
    Quality of life is so important for a cancer patient. They tend to develop negative emotions; such as depression, increased stress, fatigue, etc... which can contribute to emotional and physical downfall of the treatment process. For a patient to be physically healthy won't go very far if the patient is struggling with the mental/emotional health. For a patient to use physical activity to cope with these negative emotions, whether it's resistance training, group fitness classes, or a relaxation type class; yoga or tai chi. These are only a few ways of being active for a patient to help them cope and possible overcome the negative emotions that they may be dealing with.

NOW WHAT:
     First off, I would sit down with the patient, talk with them, building a relationship to better understand what their thoughts and feelings are in an attempt to construct a plan for physical activity. I realized this is a sensitive subject, so wouldn't make them feel as though they have to give me great detail if they are uncomfortable talking about it. However, I would inform them that I would like at least a general understanding, so I could make the best possible plan to fit them.
     Next, I would like to know their physical feedback, whether they're fatigued, for example, because this will help me determine what type of physical activity may best suit them. If they are experiencing high levels of fatigue, stress, anxiety, etc... some physical activity may add to it (Gill & Williams, 2008).
     Ideally, I would have them start off by attending our yoga and/or tai chi classes a couple times, 2-3 days, per week to build up confidence of being able to participate in physical activity, with hopes of building off that confidence and further pursuing higher levels of activity. Also, with regards to this, I would meet them at least once a week and discuss their thoughts and feelings about the activity they are participating in, collecting feedback from them in order to alter the plan of attack.
    The reasoning for having them start off with yoga or tai chi, is the mental aspects that are needed for them to partake in the activity. Being able to build a solid mentally healthy start when beginning physical activity is a great foundation to build off of. Once a solid mental base is constructed, we can then work gradually into the physical aspect (Holmes et al., 2005). Starting with some light resistance training or fitness class and work up to a more demanding level of activity, remembering to follow their progress and collect feedback. Also, most importantly, making sure they are enjoying what they are doing. Our main goal here is to increase quality of life for these patients and if they are not enjoying what they are doing, then action needs to be taken on my part to construct a plan that they can enjoy to develop a healthy and happy outlook of life through their unfortunate illness.

CONCLUSION:
     In conclusion, developing a high quality of life through physical activity for these patients is important. Collecting feedback, physically and emotionally, will help construct a satisfying plan for them to achieve a positive, quality outlook on life throughout their fight. Different levels of activity should be considered, however, I believe a more quality summation of the activity will occur for the patient to truly reap the benefits that they will and want to experience. 

REFERENCES:
Gill, D. L., & Williams, L. (2008). Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise (3rd Ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Guyatt, G. H., Feeny, D. H., & Patrick, D. L. (1993). Measuring health-related quality of life. Annals of Internal Medicine, 118(8), 622-629.

Holmes, M. D., Chen, W. Y., Feskanich, D., Kroenke, C. H., & Colditz, G. A. (2005). Physical activity and survival after breast cancer diagnosis. Journal of American Medical Association, 293(20), 2479-2486.