.jpg)
Our Guest speaker for July 30 was Chloe Sainsbury, an exercise physiologist from the University of Queensland. Chloe, a PHD candidate at the University of Queensland, made an impressive presentation despite issues with the data projector.
Chloe’s area of research is in the impact of exercise on people recovering from chronic medical conditions but more specifically cancer survivors. The research has shown not only what we have always known that “exercise is good for your health” but that in people recovering from cancer, the key benefits of increases in fitness, muscle mass and strength, a reduction in fatigue, an increase in functional activity, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, increased connectivity and improved quality of life are all areas that are greatly impacted by cancer treatments and require rehabilitation.
Thanks to developments in modern medicine, we are seeing an increase in the number of people surviving cancer but often with a greatly reduced quality of life.
While it is clear that exercise is of great benefit to addressing the issue, the research found that the barriers of time, access, lack of motivation and social support are often too great for cancer survivors to overcome.
This programme aims to restore that qualify of life using peer support where people are matched with peers who have suffered similarly so that they can support each other through the initial 4 week supervised programme and then the ongoing 18 month peer programme. Chloe’s presentation was extremely well received and she was flooded with questions as to the success and key factors before the meeting was closed by Chris.
